Intaglio Simultaneous Color Printmaking

Significance of Materials and Processes

By N. Krishna Reddy

Subjects: Arts And Crafts
Paperback : 9780887067402, 152 pages, November 1988
Hardcover : 9780887067396, 152 pages, November 1988

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Table of contents

Preface

Part One

Significance of Materials and Processes

1

Processes as Experiment and Exploration

2

Life of Materials

3

State of Mind and the Environment

Part Two

New Ways of Simultaneous Intaglio and Surface Color Printmaking

4

Introduction to Simultaneous Structuring of Intaglio and Surface Colors in Printmaking

5

A Brief History of Color Printmaking

6

Plate Preparation: Materials and Processes

A. Etching:

Line Etching

Soft Ground Etching

Halftone Processes by Aquatint Method

Relief or Deep Etch, Open-Bite

B. Tools: Hand and Machine

Hand Tools

Machine Tools

C. Photo-Processes:

Photo Image Building

Photo-Halftones

7

Color Printmaking: Materials and Processes

A. Materials:

Printing Inks

Pigments

Oils

Resins

Ink Rollers

Paper

B. Viscosity Processes in Color Printing

Color Viscosity: Its Nature and Behavior

Demonstrations

Juxtaposition of colors

Superimposition of colors

8

Experiments in Viscosity Processes

Preparation of the Intaglio Plate and the Inks

Experiment A: Printing by Juxtaposition of Colors

Experiment B: Printing by Superimposition of Colors

Experiment C: Printing in Color in the "Pointillist Manner"

Experiment D: Printing by Separation of Intaglio and Surface Colors

Experiment E: Printing without use of Viscosity

9

Simultaneous Color Printmaking by Combination Processes

Offset Processes

Stenciling Methods

Contact Processes

10

Other Color Printmaking Techniques

From Multiple Intaglio Plates

From "A la Poupée" Intaglio Methods

Intaglio with Lithographic Plates

Intaglio with Screen Printing

11

Problems in Color Printmaking

Maintaining Viscosity of Inks

Controlling Tackiness of Inks

Scumming of Colors

Bleeding or Running of Intaglio and Offset Inks

Glossary

Selected Bibliography

Index

Description

Here is a straightforward, comprehensive reference on the art of color printmaking created by Krishna Reddy, one of the world's greatest and most innovative printmakers. This book doesn't expect the reader to know a lot, but at the same time, it doesn't omit any technical detail. There are complete formulas, lists of materials and equipment, and step-by-step instructions documented by photos.

An outstanding innovator and experimenter, Krishna Reddy sees the plate as a sculpted surface, and intaglio printing as a three-dimensional process. Reddy creates a philosophy for working the image. By varying ink viscosity and roller density, he has achieved colors of extraordinary complexity on the plate. Reddy's discovery of the principle of color viscosity has greatly simplified technical processes while at the same time increasing the expressiveness and intensity of the image. This book demonstrates the intimate connection of the artist with his materials.

Krishna Reddy's artistic genius brought him universal acclaim: fifty one-man exhibitions have been mounted not only in the U.S. and Europe, but also in Montreal, Bombay, Melbourne, New Delhi, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, and Beijing. He serves on numerous award juries, ranging from the Society of American Graphic Artists to the Lalit Kala Akademi of India.

But it is not his artistic prowess alone that uniquely qualified Krishna Reddy to write a book on printmaking. He is also a consummate teacher: "He can initiate people to an entirely different field of expression," observes a collaborator at Paris' famed Atelier 17, which Reddy directed for more than 10 years. Today he directs the Graphics Program at New York University.

Krishna Reddy is Professor of Art and Artist in Residence at New York University. A sculptor and printmaker, he has lived and worked in both the U.S. and Europe. Reddy, born in India, was educated in India and the West. He has worked in the studios of Henry Moore in England, Marino Marini in Italy, Ossip Zadkine in Paris, and Stanley William Hayter's Atelier 17 in Paris, where he first began to develop his unique printmaking technique.

Reviews

"It is by far the best book on viscosity color printing by an outstanding practitioner of this technique. It is one of the most complete books on intaglio color printmaking in general. It is a must for serious students of printmaking." — Gabor Peterdi, Former Director, Graphics and Printmaking Program, Yale University

"The most outstanding feature of the book is its broad approach to the creative process. Not only does it provide significant and clearly explained technical information on printmaking techniques, but Mr. Reddy also explores the fundamental relationship and premise of what an artist is. Viscosity color printmaking is, along with the photo transfer process, the most important technical development in printmaking in this century. The ability for the artist to simultaneously print all of his or her colors on one plate was and is quite revolutionary." — Luis R. Cancel, Director, The Bronx Museum of the Arts