How Print and Digital Coexist Essay Plan

Introduction: Approx 300-500 words

Main Body: Approx 1500-2000 words

Evaluation: Approx 300-500 words

Bibiography: Harvard references, not included in word count

'Originality' is really only a matter of degree, evolving with the changing applications of traditional processes and the introduction of new ones. Similarly, new tools such as the computer, the inkjet printer and so on, may be regarded simply as the means to an end - chosen for their own particular qualities and their potential to deliver what the artist has in mind.'

Printmaking in the 21st century - Victoria and Albert Museum (vam.ac.uk)

Conferences/online exhibitions

• Conferences and online exhibitions, experience of Pictoplasma and Adobe Max, seeing work online rather than in person, altered experience, good or bad? Online gallery 3D experiences lack personality although providing you with all the facts there is no one to connect with or see how other people respond to the work. Art can be very insular so loosing this may affect people.
• Will they return as usual? Reduced numbers? Necessity to have in-person exhibitions? This has definitely changed during lockdown with so many exhibitions now being held online, the likes of Pictoplasma hosted their yearly conference online in summer last year. Could argue that there was so much more to see, you can rewatch all 4 days of streams from artists worldwide which would have been impossible in-person. However, it reduces the experience from a social aspect, not as much opportunity to network and engage with other creatives. 
• Pictoplasma was able to include artists from all over the world to be involved in the conference which increased the opportunity for variation and DIVERSITY.
• The argument that people are less confident to share their work due to LESS SOCIAL INTERACTION. You need to be good at promoting yourself and making contacts that will benefit your career- much harder to do solely online.
• I remember watching Jon Burgerman's talk for the Pictoplasma Conference last summer. He talked through his journey and experience in the creative industry and the importance of stripping things back and making what you love. Burgerman spoke about how he gets tired of making the same thing so likes to keep trying new methods. It's easy to get wound up by limiting yourself to one style to appeal to your audience (to create a recognisable style) but you need to love what you do. Don't limit your abilities for the purpose of other peoples enjoyment, lack emotion. Relating back to social media and viewing print, he talked so honestly to show that even commercial and established artists struggle with finding motivation in an industry that is growing so rapidly.
• Networking in trade fairs (Zines, Craft, Comic-Con, Seasonal, Print) has all moved online due to Covid-19, marks the start of a digital shift. London Illustration Fair was moved online.

Print vs Digital

• Being someone who loves printmaking and the process that comes with it, it's hard to think that the increase in digital processes is taking over and DIMINISHING THE IMPORTANCE of this art form. 
• Thinking about the senses, more are fulfilled with printed pieces such as screenprint or risoprint. From the smell of ink to the texture of materials and paper, its a more satisfying process that deserves to be seen in more ways than on a photo on a photo. Lacking emotion or ability to enjoy the effort that has gone into making it. 
• So many printing processes to explore, old methods of bookbinding and intaglio are used by creatives who would be exhibiting at print fairs. Maybe older so not as nifty with technology or able to generate an audience on Instagram.
• CHANGE IN INTERACTION
• Viewing format, most people will be viewing on a phone which alters the way they interact with the piece. 
• Generally speaking, its harder to generate interest in printmaking, the audience is slightly older and the outcomes often aren't as diverse as digital processes allow. More defined with attention to mark making and detail whereas digital outcomes make use of colour, shape and layers.
• Relate to diluting ideas, certain styles have been overdone on social media and have therefore become redundant.  
• Been impacted as digital is quicker, processes are more streamlined, and its easier o send to clients. Fast paced between artist and client to get feedback.

Print

• CAVE PAINTINGS, depicting human hands and animals extinct. A species froze in time, all the development and we still share the same way of image-making, cave mapping to recreate a model.
• Charcoal and okra on a stone to virtual reality, desire to make images hasn't changed, an interesting starting point. 
• So unique and have so much context, I love how print has developed with the increase in technology which has grown the possibilities massively.
• How imagery in print first developed, reference Flying Magazine and Letraset type, a complicated process to achieve a simple newspaper. Age of the Image notes about how dot process made more imagery possible with less ink needed. Tampered imagery started becoming more popular with the age of technology, newspapers started using halftone imagery making it easier and cheaper to print meaning more imagery in papers. Compare to German Spring Magazine and Little White Lies, two magazine companies who utilise traditional processes from making artwork. The New Yorker, illustration is still very much an essential part of publishing.
• SPRING magazine was founded in Hamburg, Germany, in 2004 by the same-named collective of women artists. Each year they bring out a magazine based on a single theme, previous issues include, 'Wunder', 'Happy Ending' and Yo Future!'. It's an unusual combination of comics, illustration and free drawing, realised using a wide variety of visual narrative techniques. I like how different it is compared to other illustration magazines like Juxtapoz as the visuals are mostly traditionally rendered using methods like screenprint, mark-making, mono-printing and graphite sketches.

• (Point to link print and social media paragraphs) Link to social media, how we view the news, Gerhard Richter 911 inspired painting. He wanted to paint something representative, the first one showed a cityscape, but it lacked emotion and failed to show the atmosphere. He took a knife to it and scraped away the buildings to unveil a city of loss, much more emotion and symbolism. It was made tv size, portraying how most of the world viewed it. A tragic event in history that lives on through paintings and memory. Actual events lost reality, became more like films. Viewers feel less emotion, no matter how shocking the news was, it just became the ordinary as there was too much to absorb, feeling every death would be too depressing like watching the twin towers, broadcast immediately around the world, constant coverage, the second hit was witnessed. Too difficult to comprehend. Hard to grasp the reality, the event was made to look good on screen as horrific as that is, terrorists designed it to be witnessed. Can link to social media oversaturating everything, so much can be overwhelming and actual talent fades into the background. Traditional printmakers dedicate their lives to honing their craft and are still recognised today.
• Evolution of children’s books? Compare the likes of The Jolly Postman and Elmer the Elephant (completely different level of complexity, more childish approach to illustration) to digitally produced book. Talk about how Oliver Jeffers and Jon Klassen achieve a similar outcome in a much more clean and professional way. Fate of Fausto was printed in France/Italy using complex traditional processes showing that illustrators want to keep these processes alive. Digital manipulation for traditional textures is good to an extent but will never feel as freeing/loose as the real thing. Utilising processes like monoprint/relief print in a completely new way to create characters rather than Rembrandts beautifully envisioned countryside’s.
• Talk more about printing processes, printing presses and using lettering for posters (older man on Instagram who makes the typographic posters?), likes of Beamish Museum using traditional methods for authenticity, letters, flyers, advertisements.
• Contact Printmaker in Durham

Social Media

Social media providing a sense of community in a time where you can feel so isolated, a way to connect with like minded people. See that your struggles are shared and you’re not alone (mental health). Lots of artists are beginning to share their processes, it feels s a lot more personable, able to see printmaking process, encouraging people to take up art with less studio/gallery access. Possibility of the next generation coming out of school and not being aware of art as a career? Are there going to be less people doing it as they haven’t had the same opportunities, experience of museum and cultural experiences.

• Printing process becoming fashionable again, riso is exceedingly popular and sustainable using soy-based inks. People love the texture and uniqueness of these processes (screen-print also). Natalie Andrewson shares her process or modernising and pushing it to the colour limits using digital processes to create many hues from 3 colours. Inspire people to try this process.
• Fast-paced, incredibly adaptable. Can encourage or diminish creativity depending on motivation.
• AUTHENTICITY of ideas, something that can be challenging on Instagram. It can be OVERWHELMING and hard to find motivation when it feels like every character, landscape, book idea has already been explored. 
• Instagram and other social platforms are bigger than ever, creatives can explore political and social events in a relatable way, a way to portray your viewpoint in a lighthearted/non-forceful way. My favourite illustrator, Oliver Jeffers uses his Instagram platform to promote all that's good in the world, while bringing light to important matters. He is inspired by what's happening at the minute and without forcing his opinion on others, does an amazing job which is part of why he is so successful. Take advantage of shared opinions, people will have similar viewpoints and outlook on today's world.

Sustainability

How designers are utilising the creative possibilities of sustainable print (itsnicethat.com)

An article about the endless opportunities that come with printing sustainably and rebirthing old processes. 'A breeding ground for new and exciting ways of working, being able to explore new methods in such a varied industry. Endless possibilities, combining new ideas/concepts with old methods bringing them into the 21st Century and almost reinventing them like trends- could be compared to the fashion life cycle with clothing styles circulating every 30 years or so. Highlights the constant cycle and how our opinions are altered so much by our peers and what is classed as 'popular'.

 

Artists more than most other professions should be aware of environmental impact and how we can work with sustainable materials, thinking about minimising our impact. Take into consideration small businesses/large printers and how they target this area. Recyclable packaging at Jacksons, everything is wrapped in corrugated paper for protection, other industries should look at ways to reduce their global impact. A lot of sketchbooks and gummed pads are now made from recycled coffee cups which is both better for recycling purposes and how the aesthetically for how the consumer uses them. Many artists prefer the texture of the speckled paper as it feels more organic and unique, like a traditional print or etching you'd find printed on cotton rag paper from hundreds of years ago. I think authenticity adds to the character of the artwork and makes it more desirable- creatives put so much effort into every element of their trade down to the way the paper looks and feels. 

 

Companies utilising new ways for the consumer to use their packaging designs for children to make structures from. Innovative ways to reduce waste and make packaging more than single-use. IKEA is a good example of a sustainable company, IKEA Forest and making toys from sustainable materials like wood, cardboard and virgin plastic. 

 

Increase in popularity for the risograph process (find an article about Riso's comeback, could reference Natalie Andrewson?)

 

Some would argue digital is more sustainable and there's not as much printing/test prints as thinks are usually viewed as PDF's or sent straight to the printers with few test prints. Traditional is process-based where the chance or mistakes is higher which comes with more exploration and ability to experiment. Traditional processes make way for innovative processes and thinking outside of the box, building on an original idea to make it better than you anticipated. I love this element of traditional and feel the imperfections bring character and personality that is lost behind a computer screen, the difference between illustration and graphic design (or digital and print). Print is more personable and engages with your senses, audience feels a better connection because they can touch the artwork and almost smell the printing process, so much more satisfying. 

Digital Evolution

• Good or bad depends on ethics ‘SEARCH FOR PERFECTION’ manipulated becomes reality, the line is crossed(?) not as clear to define what is real and what is fake.
• ‘Who framed Rodger Rabbit', one of the first pictures merging live-action with animation. Portray realistic interaction
• 'Star Wars', special effects experimental, model making, blue screen technology. George Lukas, Matt painting used in 1983 Star Wars on glass, blur the distinction between reality using black gaps in the artwork. The live character footage was combined and added in these gaps.
• 'Jurassic Park', insane visual effects for the time, looks so real, it would have been mesmerising/extraordinary at the time, impossible to comprehend. SHOWED THE POSSIBILITIES OF VISUAL EFFECTS.
• A positive, it's made us more observant, capturing moments that can live on forever- can OBSCURE REALITY. The idea of photographing something like the Mona Lisa, documented through a screen rather than for personal use. Can be used to show you've been there.
• It puts into perspective how negative the increase in digital technology can be. People have lost interest because things are more accessible, the increase in social media shows places edited with filters to add to their beauty.
• Endless opportunities, VR may change the face of art with 3d exhibitions and artwork where you can enter a simulated world, look at the way someone created the ‘Starry Night’ world in a museum and brought the paintings to life- Van Gogh immersive experience.
• An article from The New York Times about how Technology is changing visual art- good reference for looking at accessibility. It focuses Minh Uong, a visual editor for the magazine company showing his perspective on how technology has changed his way of working. He talks about his process and tight deadlines making creating art traditionally by hand tougher than the more readily available and comprehensive digital alternative.
• Successful illustrators have to be fluid in utilising both traditional methods and digital software. Today there's so much more pressure for people to be good at lots of areas and not reliant on a graphic designer as someone will always be more skilful than you. Very competitive with the creative industry being one of the most rapidly growing markets (find statistics). 

'The “tactile quality” of printed ephemera. Usually the two go hand in hand, especially if a piece has been letter-pressed: “it’s just very satisfying to run your fingers over the indentations of the print – every graphic designer loves that feeling,” he adds.'

Tat* presents the glorious detail of thrown away graphic ephemera (itsnicethat.com)

'The Three Trees', 1643, Rembrandt