Upcoming Delhi workshop aims to demystify printmaking
As an art form that has a large repertoire of techniques—including intaglio, relief, planography, stencil and digital forms—printmaking is unique. It opens up more vistas to explore the visual and the technical as compared to other forms of art. A set of virtual printmaking workshops is being organised by the India Habitat Centre, Delhi, in collaboration with Multiple Encounters that will give an insight into this art form.
Multiple Encounters—spearheaded by Anandamoy Banerji, Dattatraya Apte, Kavita Nayar, Moti Zharotia and Sushanta Guha—is a group of artists, working together since 2004, and involved in all aspects of printmaking. Through the workshops each artist will explain the process of each technique extensively while touching on how the medium was introduced to India in the 19th century through European countries.
Artist and author Phil Metzger in his article in the online art magazine, Art Times, writes, “Prints and reproductions both refer to copies of an original artistic work or image, but are created in very different ways. Prints are copies of an original artwork that an artist painstakingly makes, one at a time, while reproductions are mechanically produced, usually quickly and in large numbers, without involving the artist.” A very old practice, it gained popularity as makers realised that more than one print of an original artwork could be produced. For art lovers, it meant a shot at owning something, which though was not an original, but since it was exclusively hand-produced, was unique to each edition.
“As a medium, printmaking is unusual and unparalleled because it can reach the homes of every common man,” says Guha. The group has been organising various national and international activities such as workshops and exhibitions to popularise the concept of printmaking. The techniques used can be as varied as engraving and etching on a surface to using chemical reaction to impress an image onto a stone or metal plate. Of late, many artists have also started resorting to digital techniques.
“Printmaking has travelled a long way from the first impression of a thumb, to seals and wooden blocks and printing of books, to the creative works,” says Banerji. The workshop, says Apte, would also shine light on the fact how the art form was initially used for book illustrations especially by the missionaries who came to India. It was only much later that it developed into an independent art form; so much so that it also helped many artists recognise their true calling. “With time printmaking has intensified my cognizance of tones, gradation, and forms,” says Zharotia. So if you are looking at a new art form, check printmaking. This path less trodden may just guide you to your destination.
When & Where
Each workshop will have two Zoom sessions
Registration fee for each workshop: `750 for senior citizens and `1,000 for others
Timings: 11 am to 12:30 pm and 1 pm to 2:30 pm
Dates: November 28 and December 5, 12, 19
Contact: Visual Arts Gallery Phone: +91-011-43662024/25; Email: Visualartsgalleryevents@gmail.com