Imprint of Times: Blue Film Etching

Trajectory of Times of Printmaking

2005

Trajectory of Times of Printmaking

Printmaking is a versatile yet conventional craft that can be traced back thousands of years. It can also be viewed as a social art because it reflects the opinions of many and is a tool of political reformation as well as a medium for communicating ideologies. The technical advances in printmaking allow it to be infused into the life of the modern consumer as a product of the cur-rent culture. From the perspective of contemporary art, which has encouraged the development of multi-media works, printmaking has been transformed into one of the new trends in art and consequently has become a very popular art form.

The development of printmaking in China as an art form dates back to the printing of religious scriptures in the Tang Dynasty. Older evidence of printmaking dates to the stone carved portraits, seals with character im-prints, images representing the Han Dynasty, and the inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells in the later half of the Shang Dynasty. Even though printmaking, in the past, had a lower status as an art form, the block print is closely associated with the ancient cultures. In Taiwan, the development of printmaking after WWII began with the black and white wood carving. In the 50s and 60s, the wood block was essentially an ex-tension of the creative line addressing social realism in the emergent wood carving printmaking movement

promoted by Lu Shun during the 40s in China. Even-tually printmaking became a tool for political propa-ganda by the KMT government, witnessing a time of political hardship. In the 70s, the Modern Printmaking Association advocated the modern experimental fine arts. This modernization movement in printmaking em-braced this simple art form when Taiwan was entering into an era of printing associations that tolerated all aspects of the arts. Mr. LIAO, Hsiu-Ping, honored as the Father of Modern Printmaking in Taiwan, returned to Taiwan in the 80s to introduce creative techniques of modern printmaking and to actively promote the “avant-garde” concepts of printmaking which opened the minds of artists to a more liberal and wide-spread international vision. Affected by his efforts courses in modern printmaking were offered by departments of fine arts in domestic colleges and new studios were established to demonstrate the emerging techniques in printmaking. Professors DAWN, Chen-Ping, CHANG, Jen-Ren, MAY, Ding-Yen, CHUNG, Yoe-Hue, and YANG, Ming-Dae who taught for years at the National Taipei University of Arts (NTUA), were all students of Mr. LAIO, Hsiu-ping who worked to promote the mod-ernization of printmaking. While I was President of NTUA, I was approached by the Ministry of Education to develop programs that furthered the creative educa-tion at the university-level. A key element in this initia-

tive was developing educational programs in the art of modern printmaking.

The programming developed at the University included the traditional beginnings of printmaking as well as the modern ideologies. In addition, printmaking was to reflect the transitions of the times and also provide for future development of the commercial production in printmaking. The contemporary techniques of print-making in Taiwan have been gradually added including those of photocopying, photo-imaging, computer aided plotting, and collage. These new techniques were encouraged to be combined with the more traditional methods. In summary, the traditional techniques of art remain to carry out the experimental forms of creativ-ity through the rapidly advanced technologies before being transformed into culture.The programming de-veloped at the University included the traditional begin-nings of printmaking as well as the modern ideologies. In addition, printmaking was to reflect the transitions of the times and also provide for future development of the commercial production in printmaking. The con-temporary techniques of printmaking in Taiwan have been gradually added including those of photocopying, photo-imaging, computer aided plotting, and collage. These new techniques were encouraged to be com-bined with the more traditional methods. In summary,

the traditional techniques of art remain to carry out the experimental forms of creativity through the rapidly advanced technologies before being transformed into culture.

A workshop in blue film etching was added to the Traditional Art Creativity Resources Center by NTUA in 2005. Professor CONG, Zhiyuan from William Pat-terson University in the USA, as referenced by Pro-fessor DAWN, Chen-ping, was retained by NTUA to demonstrate and promote the techniques of blue film intaglio as a new etching medium in Taiwan. This new etching medium, while preserving the sense of quality of the conventional copperplate printing, further al-lows the printing on different materials including acrylic plates and wooden boards, and even the more agile applications in the contemporary hi-tech media includ-ing photocopying, photography, and the computer. Blue film etching has successfully shortened the long and tedious process of the photographic intaglio while complying with the modern awareness of environmen-tal protection. It has indeed achieved a major break-through in contemporary printmaking.g and tedious process of the photographic intaglio while complying with the modern awareness of environmental protec-tion. It has indeed achieved a major breakthrough in contemporary printmaking.

CHIU, Kun-liang

Council for Cultural Affairs

006

IMPRINT OF TIMES : BLUE FILM ETCHING

I

Blue Film Etching and the History of Printmaking

II Contemporary Status &

Blue Film Etching

III Blue Film Etching: Birth & Development

IV Approaches to Blue Film

Etching

1. Workshop & Basic Facilities of Blue Film Etching

A.

Plate Preparing Workstation

B.

Cleaning and Degrease Workstation

C.

Plate Lamination Workstation

D.

Exposure Workstation

E.

Blue Film Developing Area

F.

Printing Area

G.

Drying & Flattening Work Area

2. Preparation and Production of Artwork

A.

Drawing Preparing

B.

Digital Images

C.

Photocopied Images

3. Selection & Preparation of Blue Film

A.

Selecting the Form of Blue Film Plate

(1)

Acrylic Plate

(2)

Copper and Other Metal Plates

(3)

Wooden Plate

B.

Treatment of Blue Film Carrier

Plate

(1)

Equipment & Materials

(2)

Corner and Edge Beveling

(3)

Polishing

(4)

Degrease Procedure

012

018

032

044

044

047

049

Contents

007

4. Plate Lamination

A.

Tools & Materials

B.

Operating Method

5. Exposure

A.

Tools & Materials

B.

Exposure Test

C.

Exposure Procedure

6. Blue Film Developing

A.

Preparing Materials & Solution

(1)

Tools & Materials

(2)

Preparing Solution

B.

Developing Test

C.

Developing Operation Procedure

D.

Storage & Rework of Blue Film

Plate

7. Printing

A.

Tools & Materials

B.

Preparing Paper

C.

Inking

D.

Registration & Printing

E.

Clean & Storage

052

054

060

066

008

IMPRINT OF TIMES : BLUE FILM ETCHING

VBlue Film Etching Specific Technical Methodology

1.Layered Method

A.

Common Layered Method

B.

Other Layered Methods

2.Crumpled Collage Method

A.

Production of Carrying Plate

B.

Exposing the Blue Film

C.

Manipulation the Blue Film

D.

Developing

3.Cracking Method

A.

Tools & Materials

B.

Production Procedure

4.Mezzotint MethodA.

Tools & Materials

B.

Production Procedure

5.Spit-bite Ink Painting Method

A.

Preparation of Materials &

Solution

B.

Operation Method

VIColor Printing of Blue FilmEtching

1.Characteristics & Principles ofEtching Inks

A.

Oil-base Etching Inks & Their

Modifiers

B.

Water-base Etching Inks & Their

Modifiers

C.

Notes on Using Ink

2.The Counterproof Method

3.Overlap Printing

4.ALa Poupee

5.One-plate Multi-color Multi-printing

074

076

078

082

086

088

094

096

099

102

105

106

Contents

009

6.Chine Colle Method

7.Multi Plate Multi Color MixPrinting

A.

Production of Drawing

B.

Plate Making

C.

Preparing Color Inks

D.

Printing

8.Viscosity MethodA.

Working Principle of Viscosity

Method

(1)

Viscosity

(2)

Gravure Gradation

(3)

Ink Roller Hardness

B.

Prerequisites of Viscosity

C.

Rejective Viscosity Method

(1)

Preparing Ink

(2)

Printing

107

109

121

128

134

135

D.

Addtive Viscosity Method

(1)

Preparing Inks

(2)

Printing

VIIApplications & Illustrations ofBlue Film Etching

Introduction of Authors

IXList of suppliers

XAcknowledgments

114

VIII

:

:

: 1

: 02-28961000( )

: http://www2.tnua.edu.tw/tnua/

:

:

:

: Maggie Hamel McCloud

:1000

: 2007 7

: 5 0 0

ISBN-13 : 978-986-00-9380-3 ( )

GPN : 100-9601-089

Al l r ight reserved.