CTRL+P

Printmaking started in the old world with woodcuts as a way to decorate textile, the Chinese printed calligraphy on paper in the 5^th century, printing an image without text on paper – more commonly known today as art print – started in the 14^th century in Japan and later in Europe. During the middle of the 14^th century metal etching was developed in Germany which helped jewelers with their gold craft and from there etching in its different forms were fertile grounds for artists who were searching for new methods, both for his art and to publish his work in copies faithful to the original. With the advancement of print from engraved print to surface print in the beginning of the 20^th century allowed a larger consumer base who wished to display masterful art in their home, as modern printing techniques were cheaper and easier to copy and reproduce with. And so was invented the facsimile and later the silkscreen print whose technique’s roots lies deep in 4^th century China which later spread along the silk road throughout Asia and Europe. The ability to make artworks popular and accessible caught the artists of past centuries as a mean to study their work. in the beginning of the last century artists started escaping the confines of tradition in print as the new materials of the industrial world prospered, like rubber and later plastic. The popular attraction connected with modern artists like Picasso and Braque, and when Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein started the Pop-Art movement, creation & reproduction on it’s many forms served their ideals and ideologies well. Today the craft of art print becomes relevant again as street artists and those who work in public space found printmaking as a guerrilla path into showrooms and collectors houses.