Week 2 - Day 2 - What is printmaking? Why is printmaking important?
Printmaking is a form of art that is created by using one medium to transfer a drawing to another surface. In this form of printmaking the ink sits on the original surface and not the grooves made my indentations. Relief printing does not need the press, unlike many others. Relief prints are made from cuts that make indentations in a material whereas other forms are on one plane or made through etches. Printmaking has been around for hundreds of years all across the world. The Sumerians would carve into stone and roll them in clay starting in 2300 B.C. It spread to China in the second century through the making of wax seals, eventually reaching Europe in the 15th century. It has helped to mass produce copies of art in response to the market's demand, as well as make short and long distance communication more efficient. It was important in the past because there were not the advanced forms of technology we have today that allow us to communicate and reproduce products.
This is one of Andy Warhol's many prints including the subject of a revolver. He became obsessed with doing silkscreen prints of the revolver after he got shot with one in the late 1960s. This copy of this print was found on http://allwomenstalk.com/7-arty-prints-for-your-home/3 . This piece has the same revolver printed three times in white, red, and black. The background is a strong pink shade that creates quite a contrast with the dark subject matter. Overall, Warhol uses contrasting colors in this piece. By doing so, the overlapping revolvers still stand out among each other. The revolver of the lightest shade is on the bottom layer and so forth. This makes it so the darker guns cover up sections of the ones beneath them. There is a lot of space that opens up to the background in the print itself, which is why the artist probably chose to make it the guns stacked as to cover up some beneath it. It creates a less overwhelming picture. There is much debate about what this print could really be about. Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas in 1968 and almost died. A lot of his art became dark and morbid around this time, and the prints involving guns were based on this particular experience. In this print it is possible that the darkest revolver, the one that shows the most, happens to be in the most dangerous seeming position depending on the level at which the gun is. The colors get less aggressive as the gun points downward, also become less hostile seeming. Here, Warhol plays with light colors, simplicity, repetition, and a morbid event. The combination of all those create a dynamic mood that the artist is known for. This print is hanging up in my house an I have grown quite accustomed to it. I have grown fond of its color scheme and morbidity. The overlapping of the guns creates an intriguing texture, specifically on the handle, that creates a condensed area of pattern that contrasts with the rest of the print. Overall, it is eye catching and unique in many ways as described above.
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