Tamarind Technical Tamarind Institute, 108 Cornell Avenue, S.E. Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131 (505) 277-3901

Number 7 I Summer 1977 ©The University of New Mexico. t977. All rights reserved.

LITHOGRAPHIC TRANSFER PAPERS Alternatives and Procedures by John Sommers

But there is another manner in Lithog­ raphy where the drawing or writing ... is made on , and is transferred from thence by artificial dissolution to the stone and printed from it. This manner is peculiar to the chemical , and I am strongly inclined to believe. that it is the principal and most important part of my discovery .-Senefelder.l

NE OF THE SIX "elevated manners" of 0 lithography according to Senefelder, trans­ fer lithography has been since the earliest days of the medium an essential technical pro­ cess in the workshop. A diversity of transfer techniques from complete drawing, to collage, to development of the image is crucial to the work of many artists. Stone-to-stone techniques are invaluable when a stone cracks or is other­ wise in danger, or when a plate is exhausted. But there is a flaw. The transfer method can never be better than the itself. including its coating. Every lithographer who has made transfers is aware of the prob­ lems that are caused when a paper adheres to the printing element, then layers away, down to a coating that sticks like glue. Equally frustrat­ ing is the effect of improper storage of paper by a supplier or its disappearance from the mar­ JOSEPH RAFFAEL. Island Magic [T 75-134]. In this eight run lithograph the artist made seven transfer drawings using solvent ketplace. These problems will be familiar to all tusche on Charbonnel transparent and glossy transfer papers. Three who have used Charbonnel glossy transfer of the drawings originally transferred to stone were subsequently paper or the stone-to- known as re-transferred to zinc plates using German everdamp. stone-to­ stone. transfer paper. German everdamp. The glossy paper is notorious for over-adherence to the stone or plate, partic­ ularly to a luminum. and, according to reports received by Tamarind, the highly useful ever­ damp paper is now no longer made.2 Before further discussion of specific char­ acteristics of transfer papers. it is necessary to This article supplements Chapter 8 of TBL, pages clarify some misunderstood terms. It is com­ 221-53. Re-reading of that chapter is recommended mon to hear Charbonnet transfer paper re- as background for this discussion of transfer papers

P/ease /urn 10 83 and procedures. EDITORIAL On Economy of Means

In art, progress does not consist in extension, but in knowledge of limits. Limitation of means determines style, engenders new , and gives impulse to creation. Georges Braque, 1917 Tamarind Technical Papers

ESPITE OUR DEVOTION to publication of recent research D in lithographic processes and techniques, we occasion­ Number 7 I Summer 1977 ally shudder at the sight of new lithographs in which complex processes have been piled one upon another in Editor: Clinton Adams meaningless redundancy. During the 1950s and continuing Contributing Editor: John Sommers into the 60s and 70s we all became familiar with the "College Art intaglio print": a pastiche of Hayt~r and Contents Lasansky incorporating every possible variant of engraving, aquatint and soft-ground etching in a jumble of tones and Lithographic Transfer Papers textures. In their repetitive use of technical cliches, the Alternatives and Procedures medium had become the message, and however brilliant in by John Sommers execution, these prints soon came to bore us. By compari­ son, the lithographs of the 50s were simple in technique. As Editorial: On Economy of Means we look at the catalogs of the Cincinnati biennials-dis­ Color Lithography in the 1950s cussed with Gustave von Groschwitz in this issue of The Cincinnati Biennials TTP- we are struck by the forthright and economical use of a conversation with Gustave von Groschwitz color in the lithographs of that day. This was still true in the by Clinton Adams early 60s, although gradually, as the printers at Tamarind, U LAE. Gemini and other workshops gained in skill and Bibliography: Selected Recent knowledge, more and more complex processes became on Lithography and Lithographers available to artists. For some, these processes were indis­ Information Exchange pensible to their aesthetic statement and hence fully ju­ Airbrush Drawing in Lithography stified. One thinks of the virtuosity with which Arakawa Plate Support Protection used the split-fountain, "rainbow roll" in his suite, No! says Reclaiming Carborundum, and Other Ways the signified, printed at Graphicstudio in Tampa, of Jasper to Beat Inflation in the Workshop Johns' work at ULAE and Gemini, and of the recent lithographs made at Tamarind by James McGarrell, Nathan A Quick Color Proof Registration Method Oliveira and Deborah Remington. In all of these superb for Drawing Color Separations lithographs the technical means employed by the artists were at the service of their intentions, never dominating their content. never becoming ends in themselves. But all Tamarind Technical Papers are published twice each too often, as we visit a large juried print show or browse year by Tamarind Institute. 108 Cornell Avenue. SE, through a catalog, we are struck by the fact that the cliches Albuquerque. NM 87131. No part of this publication of the 50s have been superseded by new cliches in the 70s, may be reprinted without permission. Tamarind Institute, a division of the University of New Mexico, is successor no less hackneyed than those replaced. to Tamarind Lithography Workshop. Inc .. Los Angeles. In 1910, cloyed by acres of academic "," the SINGLE COPY PRICE: $3.00. SUBSCRIPTIONS: one-year. $6.00; Futurist manifesto demanded "the total suppression of the two-years. $10.00; three-year, $13.00 nude in painting" and called for us "to sweep from the field References to TBL in articles and footnotes are to The of art all motifs and subjects that have already been Tamarind of Lithography: Art and Techniques by exploited." A half century later we find ourselves similarly Garo Antreasian and Clinton Adams (New York, Abrams. palled by countless lithographs in which rainbow rolls are 1971). used without purpose. in which Ra uschenberg's trade­ Photo Credits: Page 87. courtesy Gustave von Groschwitz and the mark-the pencil-rubbed transfer-is mindlessly appro­ Cincinnati Art Museum: page 92. Kent Thomas Rush: all others. priated, or in which photographic processes are pointlessly Kim Jew. exploited. The fault, of course, lies not in the technical virtuosity Addenda that has been developed since 1960, but rather in the use too CAVEAT EMPTOR: The price of stone. included in "Caveat often made of it. Academic artists have always sought to Emptor." TIP 6, pages 75-76. were adjusted for compari­ camouflage the emptiness of their statements by demonstra­ son. Prices of individual suppliers were calculated by the cubic inch to adjust for differences in size and thickness. tions of skill. What is needed is restraint: a determination to Estimated shipping charges were included. TRACING indulge in technical complexities only when they are GELATIN: Antonio Grosso and Susan L'Engle of Rio de justified by aesthetic necessity. We should heed strictly Janiero write to point out that the use of tracing gelatin, as recommended by Elmer Schooley in TIP 6, page 79, is also Matisse's admonition: "Everything not useful in a picture is discussed by Grant Arnold in Creative Lithography: How detrimental." Clinton Adams to Do It, New York, Dover. 1941, page 24. 82 ferred to as cote col/e. This mistake arises from Charbonnet transparent transfer paper the words stamped in the corner of the sheet. They are placed there to assist quick identifica­ The base used for the coating is a tion of the "coated side" (cote col/e). A second paper. thin. with a brittle quality. It carries the common mistake is in use of the term. a report, familiar oval Charbonnet stamp on its coated 1 3 as if it were the name of a specific Charbonnet side. Sheet size. 64.1 by 98.4 em (25 1.1 by 38 .1.1 paper. Papier a report simply means "transfer inches). Although the coating is very smooth paper." and thus refers to all papers. not to and slick. the paper is slightly crinkled. A touch of water causes it to pucker and wrinkle. certain types. Normal transfer methods cause immediate Since Charbonnet does not assign a name to each of its papers. the list that follows makes wrinkling of the paper and stretching under use of the descriptive identifications as used pressure. Tight registration is difficult if not at Tamarind::1 impossible when using this paper, and the combined effects of puckering, wrinkling and Charbonnet glossy paper stretching are often seen in the transferred C"hurbonnel glossy image. The coating releases rapidly and well. A writing transfer paper. warm white in color. heavy in weight, and opaque. A laid Charbonnet jeune (yellow) transfer paper paper to which a rolled-on coating, heavy and highly glossy. has been applied. Sheet size, 60.6 A writing transfer paper. yellow in color, by 80 em (23 Ys by 31 112 inches). Intended for use with a coating applied by brush to a lightweight with crayon. autographic and zincographic . The coating appears streaked, but inks. and solvent-tusche drawing. this paper has this has no effect on the drawing or transfer. come to be the bane of all who have used it. Sheet size. 50.2 by 66 em ( 193.1.1 by 26 inches); Characteristically, in the transfer process, this available only in this small size. Designed for paper glues itself to whatever element is used; crayon. inks and solvent tusches, the paper instead of pulling off cleanly in a sheet, it layers transfers well and quickly using normal proce­ away from the drawing until only a covering of dures. Once this paper has been rolled it does coating and paper-fibers remains. so much so not easily flatten out, and is best taped down that it has come to be known among printers, when drawing. not affectionately, as "stick-and-pick paper." C"harbonnel malle Transfer papers other than Charbonnet What remains on the transferred drawing must include the following: be methodically picked off with a razor blade or fingernail, often with damage to parts of the Rives lithographic transfer paper drawing. During this picking process, the coat­ ing must remain wet. for once it dries, it is A relatively new writing transfer paper almost impossible to remove. As this paper was manufactured by Rives in France.4 The paper for a long time the only one available, constant is very similar to Charbonnet matte paper in failure was usually attributed to some faulty appearance and performance. The coating is procedure used in making the transfer, this less white, tending toward a warmer tone, and despite the fact that no matter how the proce­ there is a slight tooth. Sheet size, 58.4 by 78.7 dure might be varied, the results were consis­ em. (23 by 31 inches); also made in rolls, 1.07 tently poor. Theories that can be advanced to meters wide by approximately 45 meters in explain the problem include the formulation of length. Although there was some concern that the paper might deteriorate with age, samples the coating and the age of the paper. C"harbonnelrransparenl that have been on the shelf at Tamarind for a Charbonnet matte transfer paper year and a half have performed well. A writing transfer paper, cool white in Yell ow (bright) English heavy transfer color. medium in weight, and opaque. A laid paper paper to which a rolled-on coating has been applied. The matte surface characteristically Originally from L. Cornellison, this paper has a subdued gloss. Sheet size, 60.6 by 80 em carries a "Made in Great Britain" stamp on the (23Ys by 31 ~ inches). It is possible to transfer uncoated side. The coating is liberally rolled on crayon, autographic and zincographic inks, to the heavyweight, white, opaque, laid paper. heavy tusches and solvent materials using this Sheet size, 45.4 by 55.9 em. ( 17Ys by 22 inches). paper. Results are excellent. The paper releases When dry. a tension between the coating and rapidly and pulls off the element in a complete the paper causes extreme curling. It takes sheet. Procedures for its use will be discussed crayon very well, also inks and solvent tusches. below. Water base materials may be used lightly and Charbonnel jeune

83 with care. It receives water into its structure room temperature. When transferring drawings very quickly and releases rapidly, without be­ with minimal grease content it is often desir­ coming transparent. Because of this quick able to warm the stone beyond room tempera­ release. a printer unfamiliar with its behavior ture. as at higher temperatures stone receives may have problems caused by skidding, unless grease more readily. In the nineteenth century damping and pressure are well controlled. stone-warming ovens were sometimes used for this purpose. The same result may be achieved .. Prone" gummed label paper by use of a torch to heat the stone.7 Until May 1977 this paper was made by Damp the surface of the stone. then use a 3M. when the name and process were sold to sponge to dry it down to a matte-damp appear­ Perfection Paper Manufacturing.'' Not designed ance. When the surface is at minimal damp­ as a transfer paper. it is made for use as a ness. apply the transfer; cover it with mylar, gummed label paper. and is described as hav­ backing and tympan; and run it quickly ing a "micro-particle" coating which "consists thro ugh the press. See paragraph 4 below for of millions of tiny glue islands that expand and further procedures in making transfers to stone. Rives lithographic contract independently.''~; It is this toothy sur­ 3. Transfers to metal plates. Unlike stone, face that makes "Prone" such an excellent plates should not be dampened prior to trans­ paper for any kind of crayon work. It also fer. Plates are at their optimum capacity for receives inks and solvent materials satisfacto­ reception of grease when freshly counteretched. rily. The highly absorbent character of the Water trapped beneath drawing materials in­ paper is a desirable quality for transfer, al­ duces formation of oxides a nd results either in though it requires that a solvent tusche drawing a spotty roll up or in a complete failure. To be transferred as soon as possible after execu­ ensure adherence of the transfer to the plate, tion. Non-absorbent transfer papers (papers any of three procedures may be used: (a) The with completely hard surfaces) are perhaps transfer paper may be dampened by placing it better for use with tusche. between damp blotters for a period prior to Sheet size. 50.8 by 63.5 em (20 by 25 transfer. a llowing the surface to become slightly inches); available only in this small size. It is tacky to the touch. When using this method, difficult to tell the coated from the uncoated care must be taken to protect water soluble side of the paper. The coated side is very drawing materials from any dampness from Yello" Engli~h slig htly warmer in color. "Prone" transfers above. and the initial pressure setting must rapidly with light to medium pressure and be carefully considered, as damp drawing medium damping. When the process is com­ materials "smash" more easily than do dry plete. the paper is sufficiently transparent so materials. (b) The transfer paper may be at­ that o ne may see the image through it. tached to the lead edge of the printing element using masking tape. The back is then quickly HE TRANSFER PROCEDURE is essentially the sponged and it is run through the press. Both T same for all of the papers that have been methods (a) and (b) are dangerous when usi ng described. Variations occur in the amounts of transfer papers that tend to wrinkle in the pressure needed. the amount of water to be presence of moisture. (c) A sheet of laid paper applied. a nd the number of courses needed is evenly dampened with a sponge: this sheet of through the press. The user must determine dampened paper is placed o n top . of the these differences through experience. Following transfer. covered with all appropriate backing are necessary steps in the wet transfer process: materials. and run through the press. After one I. The press set-up. Position the freshly press run the dampened laid paper is discarded. "Prone" grained stone or counteretched plate on the 4. Continuation of the transfer procedure. press. Select a flawless scraper of adequate After the first run through the press, similar length and position it in the press to cover the procedures are followed either with stone or width of the paper. Lay a clean paper over the plate. and dampen the transfer paper lightly printing element. cover it with clean mylar, with water. Tapping the sponge on the back of backing and tympan. Position the bed for the the paper will drive water into it, although the lowering of the scraper bar. and mark it. Set the pressure and quantity of water should no t be so pressure. usually quite firm for the first run g reat as to force water through the drawing through the press. Determine the end of the material on to the stone or plate. When prop­ bed run. a nd mark it. Prepare two bowls of erly done there should be only sufficient water warm water: have clean sponges at hand. to dissolve the coating and release the image. 2. Tran~fers to stone. Prior to making Wipe the paper down. matte-damp, mov­ prepa ra tions for transfer. the stone should be ing the sponge from the center towa rd the placed in a warm room and a llowed to come to edge . Leave no excess water at the lead edge,

84 where it might squeeze under the transfer. Run cheesecloth into a glass jar. Cover and refriger­ the element through the press three times with ate in a glass jar, or, if intended for immediate all covers and backing material in place. Re­ u e. place in a double boiler over simmering duce the pressure. uncover the transfer, and water. check for transparency. If white flecks are The transfer paper is best made on a large. visible in the paper. along with the image, the clean. smooth surface, preferably a glass, mar­ paper is not yet wet enough for complete ble or Formica slab. At hand should be a clean. release. Additional damping with the sponge damp cloth. masking tape, a four-inch rabbit may complete the process. Some papers will hair brush. clothespins. and a line from which require additional cycles in the press-one, two freshly may be hung. The paper, or more-with damping between them. cut to an appropriate size. should be laid paper 5. Processing. Dry the plate or stone, of good quality. such as Radar Vellum. apply rosin and talc to the image. If aluminum After securing one end of the paper to the has been used. a straight gum etch will usually slab with masking tape. brush the coating on. It be sufficient. although if solvent tusche or other should be steaming hot. The application should very greasy drawing materials were employed. be broad and must be brushed out evenly and an etch of two parts gum and one part plate quickly. as the coating material begins to set up etch may be required. with possible spot etch­ almost at once. and brushing into it tends to ing of very greasy deposits. If stone has been scumble its surface.s Remove the paper from used. the image is relatively secure and will the slab and hang it from the line. The lower require an appropriate etch as determined by corners should be weighted with clothespins. the quality of the stone. the drawing materials Before coating a second sheet. clean the slab transferred. and the quality of the transferred with a damp cloth. The pan of coating material image. must be kept hot during the entire process. Allow paper to dry for one hour. Store freshly Stone-to-stone transfers made paper between clean sheets of Mylar in GERMAN EVERDAMP PAPER has for many an airtight container or wrap in heavy plastic. years been considered the standard and reliable No weight should be allowed to rest on the paper for use in making stone-to-stone trans­ package. Paper can be stored for three to four fers. Unless kept in an airtight container to weeks if the package is airtight. Fresh paper retain its everdamp characteristics. the coating can be made within two hours of its intended would dry. sometimes within minutes. becom­ use.!! ing brittle and useless. If improperly stored by a supplier. it could often be received in such a HE TRANSFER PROCEDURE from Stone-to­ condition. For better or for worse. these prob­ T tone differs from the procedure used in lems appear to be over. as we are told that transfer of drawings in that wet stone surfaces German everdamp paper is no longer avail­ and damping procedures are not used. The able. image pulled on everdamp transfer paper The necessity for a dependable stone-to­ should be slightly lighter in inking than would stone paper is ever present in the workshop. be an impression on fine rag paper. If a crisper Such a necessity has forced us to develop at transfer is desired, a little magnesium car­ Tamarind a paper that can be made quickly bonate may be added to the ink: if a greasier from easily obtained materials. Following is a transfer is desired. a little number three varnish formula for the coating (a modified version of may be added. The transfer should be com­ the everdamp formula given in TBL. page 232): pleted immediately after the impression is Water 1.0 liter pulled. using firm to heavy pressure. Progress of Agar-agar (laboratory grade) 2.5 cc the transfer may be checked by carefully lifting Glycerine 0.2 liter the paper edge for examination. If the transfer Glucose (white corn syrup) 31.0 ml paper is fresh and thus has orne tack against Gelatine (high grade. pure. the stone. it may safely be run repeatedly 100 bloom) 2.0 cc through the press. (In U.S. measures. an approximately equivalent The formulas given in TBL. pages 230 and formula is water. I quart: agar-agar. 4 level 231. paragraphs 2 and 3. for stone-to-stone teaspoons: glycerine. 3A cup: glucose. I liquid transfer paper and grained transfer paper have ounce: and gelatine. I level tablespoon.) also been prepared and tested in the workshop. Bring the water to a boiL add agar-agar. Results were excellent in both cases. Although and dissolve. Lower heat to a simmer. add designed for stone-to-stone transfers, the toothy remaining ingredients while stirring (a wire StJrface of stone-to-stone paper also makes it whisk is best) and strain through double Please fum 10 page 9/

85 -

PABLO PICASSO. Composition. 8 Aout 1947. Private collection. Albuquerque. Another impression of this lithograph was included in the first Cincinnati biennial (1950) under the title. The Glass. The handsome catalogs of the biennial exhibitions. in which all COLOR LITHOGRAPHY IN THE 1950s illustrations appeared in color. were designed by Noel Martin. The Cincinnati Biennials a conversation with Gustave von Groschwitz by Clinton Adams

Between 1950 and 1958, while curator of color lithographs were being made in the prints at the Cincinnati Art Museum, United States. How about Europe, l wondered. Gustave von Groschwitz organized an So I explored that. Braque and Chagall and historic series of five international bi­ Picasso were going strong in the late forties, ennial exhibitions of color lithography. after the war, and the English were also very Coming at a time when lithography was active. So I proposed to Philip Adams [then at low ebb in the United States, these director of the Cincinnati Art Museum) that we exhibitions, each of which was accom­ organize a first biennial exhibition of color panied by a handsome catalog, provided lithography. It had never been done before. I an important stimulus to the medium. In went to the New York dealers and wrote to March of this year, Mr. von Groschwitz people. including different sources abroad­ and I discussed these exhibitions and his - they are listed in that first catalog. r got long association with American lithogra­ together a relatively small show of 235 litho­ phy. I began our talk with a question. graphs. I remember the opening. It was a cold night, there weren't many people. But we got it Von, let me start by asking how that first biennial off the ground. came into being. Why did you suddenly get Aided by our publicity, we started work on the interested in doing a show of color lithographs in 1952 biennial. I proposed that I ought to pick 1950? it wasn't a popular medium then. prints in Europe. It is the only way to make a I went to Cincinnati in 1947. And in 1948 I successful show, I believe-and I have good put on a show of 150 years of lithography, to arguments to support that belief. It is not just to celebrate the invention of the process. 1 And get a free trip to Europe. The only way to do it then through my personal contacts, visits to is to pick things yourself, you can't depend on exhibitions, and articles in magazines and cata­ having them sent to you. That's how it hap­ logs, I suddenly became aware that a lot of pened ... something clicked.

86 So the !50th anniversary show led to the bien­ nials. But how did you happen to do the anniver­ sat:vshow? That goes back further. Albert Heckman was one of the Woodstock group who also taught at Teachers College in New York. He was older than I. he was a teacher while I was a student at Columbia. I bought my first lithograph from him. At at the same time I was taking an art history course. and the lecturer talked about Rembrandt's etchings.... Those were my first exposures to prints. Then. years later. I became particularly aware of color lithography while working with the Federal Art Project. In 1938 I got a job as curator of prints at Wesleyan Uni­ versity in Connecticut. When I had a chance to take off for a couple of years, I returned to New York and in 1947 completed a master's degree in art history at the Institute of Fine Arts [New York University].2 I wrote my thesis on nineteenth century color lithography. Europe. America. all over-wherever I could find it. That clinched my interest and involve­ ment with the medium. You spoke of your work with 1he Federal Art Project. Would you expand on that. I was supervisor of the graphic arts division of the Federal Art Project in New York. Russ Limbach, Guss Peck and others-including Ber­ Above left: Mr. and Mrs. Gustave von Groschwitz (left) talk with June Wayne narda Bryson. who later became Ben Shahn's at the opening of an exhibition a t the American Embassy in Paris. June 1957. Above right: Examining a print while selecting an exhibition at the Cincinnati wife- were interested in starting a lithograph Art Museum. 1960(?). Below: von Groschwitz at the Federal Art Project shop. So we got one going, and there were workshop in New York. c. 1936-37. exhibitions-there was a project gallery. We got And the artists came there to work? good publicity in the New York Times, and I To print lithographs, yes. And they came in for saw to it that we got into the magazines. Even assignments. They had to check in at least every though I'm not an artist, I learned something four weeks with sketches for approval. There about the technique of lithography. The shop was a separation between artists who qualified was run by Limbach and Peck. They and for relief and well-established artists like Stuart certain artists were eager to work in color Davis and Kuniyoshi. They didn't have to lithography. It became a miniature revivaJ.J As qualify on a need basis, but they were helped supervisor I was in and out, and I learned how by the project. That didn't last very long. a lithograph is made. That enhanced my enjoy­ ment of lithographs because I learned to see I remember that when I went to the University of things. the fine things, the things that an artist is Kentucky in 1954 one of the things I found was a involved with- to me they are very beauti­ fairly large collection of WPA lithographs, in­ ful-and I just got hooked on it. cluding a Stuart Davis. Yes. prints from the project were often given to Was there a master printer at the shop, Von, or schools. did the arlists print for themselves? Project lithographs tended to be small and We had Ted Wahl. who had been teaching at usually in black and white. This was also true of the Art Students League and who was our Miller's work and the prints that Kistler made. master printer. There was also an old-time The color lithograph that I showed in your first German printer, who used to print cigar-band Cincinnati biennial was only a little more than labels. and then, of course, there were assistants 9 x II inches. As I remember it, most of the to grain stones. American lithographs in the earlier biennials Where was the shop located? were smaller and perhaps less spectacular than It was on 39th Street, a little east of Fifth the ones from Europe. I am sure this was related Avenue. in an office building, upstairs. We had to the circumstances in which the artists had to three lithograph presses. There were also two work at that time. By and large, there were only etching presses and a Washington hand press. small presses and small stones available. 87 French prints. the abstract prints grew stronger, but the realistic phase held on. Perhaps print­ making i somehow more conservative than painting. But even during the period of abstract ex pression ism, there were galleries that were showing realist painting. It wasn't dead. just submerged. As 1 look at the names of the artists in the fifth biennial [ /958], most of whom 1 recognize, I see that a very high percentage among the Amer­ icans must have printed their own work. Certain­ tv this would be true ofGaro A ntreasian, Eleanor Coen, Max Kahn, Jerome Kaplan, Reginald Neal, Arnold Singer, Benton Spruance, and others. Whereas many of the European artists undoubtedly worked with master-printers. Yes. I remember meeting June Wayne in Paris in 1957 when I was travelling in Europe to organize the 1958 exhibition. Already she was concerned that lithography was dying out in America for lack of printers. Tatyana Grosman also came out to Cincinnati and I met her for the first time. But yes ... most of the artists printed for themselves. Where else could they have gone at that time? Some that 1 recognize from my experience are artists who worked with Lynton Kistler, as 1 did. Of course Barrell and Miller were printing in the fifties, but much of their work was in black and white. Bob Blackburn, who often printed for other artists, exhibited two color lithographs in the.f 950 exhibition. REGINALD H. NEAL. Triptych. Included in the fourth Cincinnati biennial. The 1958 exhibition was the last of the five biennials. What brought the series to a close? Well. people would ask why we didn't show all True. The convention of the time was the small kinds of color prints. I remember replying, etching. the small woodcut. and the small jokingly. that they must be trying to kill me! It lithograph. meaning "portfolio size." But with was a tremendous undertaking for a small increasing knowledge of lithography, the possi­ institution to put on so big a show. The bilities of the medium were further developed. exhibition had become very large [the 1958 And as American paintings got bigger. the biennial included 450 lithographs]. Organiza­ prints got bigger too-until before long it got to tion of such a show involves a lot lot work. be a problem in installation. But it was all to Travel. staff time, and months away from the the good. museum. But I had become aware of the fine Aside from a change in size, what other changes work that was being done in other media-in­ did vou see in the American prints between the taglio. woodcut. and then Picasso's wonderful tim~ of the first biennial in /950 and, say, ten linocuts of the bullfight [ 1959]. There had been vears later? an international exhibition of the woodcut at Of course that was a period following social the Victoria and Albert in London. So why not realism. in which many of the artists had dealt include fine prints in other media?4 with ocial issues. Abstract expressionism was Was the Cincinnati Museum able to make just beginning to take hold. so that the repre- purchases from the biennials? entational print was something you were quite Yes. a large number. Anyone who wanted to aware of. tudy the lithographs of the fifties would have A lthnu~h ahstract expressionism had real~)' to go to Cincinnati. It would all be there in that taken hold in paintin~. it hadn't among print­ collection. I don't think its equivalent could be makers to such an extent. found eslewhere. Other museums didn't do It hadn't filtered through at the time. As the uch specialized buying in the field. And be­ Cincinnati shows went on. particularly in the Please turn ro page 96

88 BIBLIOGRAPHY Selected Recent Books on Lithography and Lithographers Compiled by Clinton Adams

The following entries supplement the bibliography in­ cluded in The Tamarind Book of Lithography: Art and Techniques (New York. Abrams, 1971 ), pages 449-53. These entries are limited to books and museum catalogs published si nce 1969: works listed in TBL are not repeated here. Monographs are included only if litho­ graphs comprise a substantial part of an artist's work. Articles in periodicals are omitted.

I. Technical Works 1977 Knigen, Michael. and Zimiles, Murray. The Tech­ nique of Fine Art Lithography. New York. Van 1969 Kruiningen, H. van. The Techniques of Graphic Nostrand Reinhold. Art. New York, Praeger Pub. Revised edition (see TBL entry 1970). Brief A short, superficial survey of print processes. but well-organized manual designed for student Translated from Dutch edition (1966). use in the workshop. 1971 Loche, Renee. La lithographie. Geneva. Editions Maxwell. William C. Printmaking: a Beginning de Bonvent. Handbook. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall. An attractive but brief account of the process. An introductory text with separate chapters Also English version by Julian Snelling and on stone, metal plate and transfer lithography. Claude Namy. Senefelder, Alois. A Complete Course of Lithog­ 1972 Heller. Jules. Printmaking Today. New York, raphy. New York. Da Capo Press. Holt. Rinehart & Winston. Paperback edition (see TBL entry 1818). The best of the general surveys of printmaking processes, a much revised and improved version II. History of Lithography of the author's original text (1958). Well­ illustrated. some in color. 1969 American Printmaking: the First 100 Years. New Ross, John, a nd Romano, Clare. The Complete York. The Museum of Graphic Art. Printmaker. New York, Free Press. Text by Wendy J. Shadwell. Includes only two Another general survey of printmaking tech­ lithographs. niques. The chapter on lithography included in The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton. Austin the 1972 edition is brief and inadequate; this and London. The University ofTexas Press. chapter is omitted in the paperback edition A ~Catalog raisonne. compiled and edited by ( 1974). Creekmore Fath. 1973 Faux, Ian. Modern Lithography. London, Mac- Print Collecting Today: a Symposium. Boston Donald & Sons. Public Library. A survey of offset lithography. Chapters on the Statements by Arthur Vershbow, Sinclair chemistry of lithography and photo-litho­ Hitchings and R. E. Lewis. graphic platemaking are of interest to the artist­ Timm, Werner. The Graphic Art of Edvard Munch. lithographer. Greenwich, Ct., New York Graphic Society. Stellman, Jeanne M., and Daum, Susan M. Work Substantial text, bibliography. Well-illustrated, Is Dangerous to Your Health. New York, Vintage some in color. Books. 1970 American Prints in the Library of Congress: a "A handbook of health hazards in the work­ Catalog of the Collection. Baltimore and London, place and what you can do about them." In­ Johns Hopkins Press. cludes discussion of solvents, lacquers and other A basic reference work, extensively illustrated, materials commonly used in lithography. Every with bibliographies and index. Compiled by lithographer should be aware of the dangers Karen F. Beall. that are present. Field, Richard S. Jasper Johns: Prints /960-70.

89 New York, Praeger Pub., in association with the A Joys Sene.felder, 1771-1834. Philadelphia, Tern pie Philadelphia Museum of Art. University. An excellent text and catalog marred by poorly An excellent, annotated exhibition catalog with printed illustrations. a brief but informative text by Victor Strauss. Man, Felix H. Artists' Lithographs: a World His­ 1973 Castleman. Riva. Contemporary Prints. New York. tory from Senefelder to the Present Day. New Viking Press. York. G. P. Putnam's Sons. Critical comments on seventy prints. A highly Despite its ambitious title, an inadequate and personal selection. Handsomely produced and imbalanced expansion of the author's !50 Years illustrated, most in color. Also published in of Artists' Lithographs ( 1953). Well illustrated, England under the title, Modern Prints since some in color. /942. London, Barrie & Jenkins. Coke, Van Deren. Clinton Adams. Albuquerque, 1971 Adhemar, Jean. Twentieth Century Graphics. New University of New Mexico Art Museum. York, Praeger Pub. Catalog of a retrospective exhibition of litho­ A disappointing, imbalanced, and occasionally graphs. 1948-72. Illustrated. some in color. inaccurate survey. Illustrated, some in color. Chronology and bibliography. Castleman. Riva. Technics and Creativity: Gemini Lewis. Louise M. Garo Z. A ntreasian. Albuquer­ G.E.L. New York. The Museum of Modern Art. que. University of New Mexico Art Museum. Catalog of a comprehensive exhibition of Catalog of a retrospective exhibition of litho­ Gemini lithographs, screenprints and multiples graphs. 1951-72. Illustrated, some in color. held at MOMA in 1971. Illustrated, some in Chronology. color. McClinton. Katharine M. The Chromolithographs Ear(Ji Lithography. 1801-1835. Middletown, Ct., of' Louis Prang. New York. C. N . Potter/ Crown. Davison Art Center. Wesleyan University. Prang & Co.. competitors of Currier & Ives. An illustrated exhibition catalog. published large numbers of chromolithographs Made in California: an Exhibition of Five Work­ between 1860 and 1897. Some are original shops. Los Angeles. Grunwald Graphic Arts lithographs, including Civil War drawings by Foundation. University of California. Winslow Homer; most are reproductions. The five workshops are Tamarind, Gemini, posters. maps. etc. Collector's Press. Cirrus and Tamstone. Weisberg. Gabriel P. Social Concern and the Man. Felix H. Homage to Senefelder: Artists' Worker: French Prints .from 1830-1910. Salt Lake Lithographs from the Felix H. Man Collection. City. Utah Museum of Fine Arts. London. Victoria and Albert Museum. An illuminating catalog which discusses many The Man collection gives emphasis to 19th notable lithographs in their social context. century lithographs. 1974 The Grunwald Center .for the Graphic Arts: Twenty Tamarind: a Renaissance of Lithography. Balti­ Years of Acquisition. Los Angeles, University of more. Garamond/Pridemark Press. California. Catalog of an exhibition organized by the Inter­ An account of the growth and holdings of one national Exhibitions Foundation. Introduction of America's foremost university print collec­ by E. Maurice Bloch. tions. Introduction by E. Maurice Bloch. In­ 1972 Will Barnet: Etchings. Lithographs, Woodcuts, cludes many 19th and 20th century lithographs. Serigraphs. 1932-72: a Catalog Raisonee. New Knigin. Michael, and Zimiles. Murray. The Con­ York. Associated American Artists. temporary Litho~:raphic Workshop around the Compiled and edited by Sylvan Cole, Jr. Fore­ World. New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold. word by Robert Doty. A handsome. large volume with many illustra­ Salamon. Ferdinand. The History of Prints and tions in color. The text is superficial and some­ Printmaking. .from Durer to Picasso. New York, times inaccurate. American Heritage Press. Kornfeld. E. W.. and Wick, P. A. Catalogue A general work which gives minor emphasis raisonee de /'Oeuvre grave et lithographie de Paul to lithography but which contains much infor­ Si~:nac. Berne. Kornfeld et Klipstein. mation useful to the printmaker and student. Fully illustrated, many in color. Translation from the Italian. La Collezione di Zigrosser. Carl. Prints and Their Creators: a Stampi ( 1971 ). World History. New York, Crown Pub. Selected Acquisitions, 1955-1972. Middletown. Ct.. Second. revised edition of Zigrosser's compre­ Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University. hensive urvey. originally published in 1937. Illustrated are notable prints. including many 1975 Adams. Clinton. Fritz Scholder: Lithographs. lithographs. acquired during the directorship Boston. New York Graphic Society. of Heinrich Schwartz at the Davison Art Center. A complete catalog of Scholder's lithographs

90 through April 1975. All works illustrated, some edition: London, Thames & Hudson. in color. Chronology, bibliography. A short history of the fine print in the 20th Homage a Teriade. London, Diploma Galleries, century. Illustrations selected entirely from Royal Academy of Art. the MOMA collection, with selective emphasis Catalog of an exhibition of Teriade's livres given to certain aspects of recent printmaking. d'artiste. ' Eichenberg, Fritz. The Art of the Print: Master­ Lithography I. Albuquerque, University of New pieces. History. Techniques. New York, Abrams. Mexico Art Museum. A handsomely produced and comprehensive Catalog of the first in a series of biennial ex­ volume based, as the author states in his pref­ hibitions of lithography. Introduction by ace. "on one artist's personal views, experiences, Clinton Adams. preferences and antipathies." Well illustrated. Mason. Lauris. Print Reference Sources. Millwood, Lvnton R. Kistler: Printer-Lithographer. A de­ N.J .. Kraus-Thomson Pub. scription of books printed between 1927 and 1974. A bibliography of reference sources on print­ Northridge, Calif., California State University makers and prints in the 18th, 19th and 20th Libraries. centuries. Compiled by Norman Tanis, Dennis Bakewell Whistler Lithographs. London, Jupiter. and Don Read. Introduction by Jacob Zeitlin. An illustrated catalog raisonee compiled and Morse, Peter, Jean Charlot's Prints: a Catalogue edited by Mervyn Levy. Supplements Way Raisonee. Honolulu. University of Hawaii. ( 1914) by listing lithographs later reprinted by Fully illustrated, some in color, with an intro­ Goulding. duction by the author and illuminating com­ Winkler, R. Armin. Die Fruhzeit der deutschen ments from the artist's journals. Lithographie: Katalog der Bilddrucke von 1796- Reich. Sheldon. Graphic Styles of the American 1821. Munchen. Prestel-Verlag. Ei?,ht. Salt Lake City. Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Lists 952 artists who made lithographs in these Illustrated. with chronology and bibliography. early years. An indispensible reference for study 1977 Johnson. Una. Ambroise Vo/lard: Editeur. New ofGerman lithography. York. The Museum of Modern Art. 1976 Carey. John Thomas. The American Lithograph Revised and expanded, both in text and entries, r from Its Inception to 1865. Ann Arbor, University from the author's earlier version (1944). Illus­ Microfilms. trated. A readable and informative account of the Tamarind: Suite Fifteen. Albuquerque, Tamarind development of lithography in the United Institute. in association with the University of States during the earlier 19th century. Biog­ New Mexico Art Museum. raphies and bibliography. Publication of a Catalog of the second in a series of biennial Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1954. exhibitions of lithography. Introduction by Castel man, Riva. Prints of the Twentieth Century. Gustave von Groschwitz. Il lustrated, most in New York, Museum of Modern Art. English color. Biographies of the artists.

TRANSFER PAPERS continued from page 85 suitable for broad crayon drawings. as is grained transfer paper. Neither will transfer with pressure only. damp transfer methods are required.

I. Senefelder, Aloys. A Complete Course of Lithog­ 6. Printer's Guide. 3M brand papers, Minnesota Min­ raphy. London, 1818, page 256. ing and Manufacturing Company. St. Paul, MN, 1973, 2. In telephone conversations with Rembrandt page 39. Graphics and Graphic Chemical company we were told 7. See TIP. March 1974. page 2. that German everdamp paper is not longer available. 8. In TBL, page 232, a second coating is recommen­ 3. Carbonnel transfer papers are available from M. ded. Recent experience indicates that the second coat is not Flax, 10853 Lindbrook Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90024, or needed on Radar Vellum. If a more absorbent paper were from Sam Flax. 25 East 28th Street. New York, NY 10016. used. a second coat might be required. If so. it should be 4. Rives transfer paper is available from applied very rapidly, and only after the first coat had been Andrews/Nelson/Whitehead. 3110 48th Avenue. Long Is­ allowed to dry for at least one hour. land City. NY 11101. 9. Unused material may be refrigerated and reheated 5. "Prone" gummed label paper is distributed in a double boiler when needed. If stored for prolonged nationally by Graham Paper Company. periods. addition of a preservative would be required.

91 Judith Nelson sprays Liquitex polymer medium through a screen on to an alumi­ num plate.

lNFORMATION EXCHANGE a column for discussion of questions and suggestions from readers byJohn Sommers

Airbrush Drawing in Lithography turn requmng extreme under-drawing, and a resultant fragility of the image, requiring highly TTP has received two questions from distant skilled etching, washout and roll up. None of ~ parts of the country, both about airbrush tech­ the tusche techniques we explored satisfactorily niques in lithography. Donald Agnew, a student answered the needs of the artist. These tech- at Eastern Montana College in Billings asks niques are apparently complicated in two ways: about processing drawings made with airbrushed first, by the inherent irregularity and imbalance Korn's stick tusche. He describes several drawing between grease and pigment in Korn's tusches and etch controls but explains that his drawings (particularly true of Korn's stick tusche), and, always fill in. Byron McKeeby, professor at the second. by the fact that tusches, whether in University of Tennessee, writes for a graduate water suspension or solvent solution, contain student who is using polymer materials with non-visible grease. Such grease, in greater or airbrush, following Ben A dams' article, "A ir­ lesser proportion, rapidly adds to and fills in brush Drawings with Polymer Materials," TTP visible pigment gradations while the image is 3. January 1975. being drawn. By the time the value appears Delicate tones are dropping out. They seem visibly correct to the artist's eye, it is already to be there but don 't print ... I have much overdrawn because of this non-visible altered everything I know of Does Tam­ grease. arind have any more notes on this tech­ These problems led to Tamarind's devel­ nique? opment of polymer drawing techniques, as In Agnew's question the problem lies in described in Adams' article. The principle in the use of tusche rather than polymer to make polymer drawing is that of stop-out, eliminat­ the airbrush drawings. Some years ago. Tama­ ing the inherent difficulties caused by tusche. rind thoroughly researched the use of tusche in Using polymer, it is possible to airbrush accu­ airbrush techniques, and developed several rate gradations of tone, provided that a few processes. One included the preparation of a simple facts are kept in mind: (I) too great a solvent-based material composed of triple ink, dilution will weaken the bond between the asphaltum, lithotine and oleic acid, diluted to a polymer and the printing element; this, in turn, proper consistency with lacquer thinner; will weaken resistance to the etch and will another used Korn's liquid tusche, diluted one­ cause the drawing to be too light; (2) too much third with water. There were in each case ex­ spray will rapidly fill the grain, so that a black treme problems in processing, ranging from area will result far in advance of an apparently grease-concentration to etch-strength; these in black tone; (3) too great a distance between the

92 airbru h and the printing element will allow the or (2) the adsorbed gum film might be polymer to dry before it attaches to the grain of weakened. Such a weak, adsorbed film might the plate or stone: and (4) too short a distance permit scumming during roll up. with a re­ between the airbrush and the printing element sultant enlargement o f the smaller dots. will bring about a "clogged" appearance, and The etching process should not exceed darks will mature too rapidly. It is also impor­ three minutes. It is important to buff the tant that sufficient time be allowed for the element down with care: vigorous or heavy polymer to cure properly. If the etch is applied buffing may loosen thinner attachments. which immediately after the airbrush drawing is because of their thinness have low tensile made. the polymer may still be soluble in strength. Distilled water should always be used water. and as gum etches are water based. parts for washing out plates (and is often desirable of the drawing may dissolve. on stone). Plates waterburn easily when there McKeeby's statement that tones "seem to are chemicals (hardness) in the water: use of be there but don't print" s uggest two different distilled water until after the second etch will problems. Either there are delicate tones in the avoid this hazard. This is particularly true of drawing that fail to roll up, or there are tones the lightest areas. where the lacquer or asphal­ that roll up but fail to print. Both possibilities tum is thinnest. Neither lacquer nor asphaltum, should be considered. If tones are not rolling either eparately or together, forms a film up. several causes are possible, alone or in capable of providing safe protection against the combination. Both the distance between the waterburning of tiny dots which have not yet airbrush and the printing element and the size become grease reservoirs. If either on stone or of the spray are important (as discussed in aluminum they are waterburned at this stage, Adam ' article). As the spray becomes finer, they will roll up weakly or not at all, depending one must work closer to the plate, otherwise the upon the degree of burn. Although perhaps spray will dry to some degree in transit, thus visible as ghosts, they will not print. forming an insufficient mask to protect the tiny It is our preference to go directly from the spots that it forms from the acid/gum reaction. polymer drawing material to lacquer (unless If it dries completely before it hits the printing grease-based drawing materials and/or gum element. it may appear to be attached, but still masks have also been used). In any event, the come off when the plate is buffed or the etch is printing element should be regummed before a pplied. Note also that only the gloss polymer wash out. When going directly into lacquer, medium should be used: the matte medium three gum films are buffed onto the printing contains marble dust. which serves to weaken element: when going into grease (in the ab­ its attachment to the plate. All of Tamarind's sence of grease-based drawing), the old etch is work has been done using Liquitex, which gives washed off with water, the element is fanned consistently good results (we can say nothing dry. and a fresh gum film is put down. Using a bout other brands). It may be desirable to these procedures, the lacquer will come off the adj ust the proportion of the mixture, as sug­ negative areas easily and quickly at wash off gested by Adams. from I part medium. I part prior to roll up. No acid will be left on the pigment (Mars Black) and I part water, to I Y2 surface. where it might be reactivated by water parts medium. I part pigment, and I part precisely at the moment when the new image distilled water. dots are at their most delicate. The etch should also be checked, both in If rolled up carefully. the image should be strength and procedure. Because the drawing is perfect. The ink used for the roll up should be a stop out, there is no need to consider the etch neither too tacky nor too loose. If too tacky, the strength in terms of grease reservoirs. The roll up will be slow, the dots will be grease­ purpose of the etch is solely to create an starved and unprotected; if too loose, the roll adsorbed gum film around the dots of the up will be so fast as to be uncontrolled, thus airbrush drawing. Since gum adsorbs at its becoming overinked. Too dark a roll up may be maximum capacity at a pH of 2.8, there is no reason to use an etch of lower pH on any printing element. Indeed, it is best to etch at a I. Using mixtures of gum arabic and plate etch (pH pH of 3.0 to 3.2 on stone or aluminum and at 2.3 to 2.5). the ideal mix for etching of polymer airbrush 1 3.8 to 4.0 on zinc. Stronger drawings do not drawings on aluminum is about one-third each. gum require stronger etches, as there is no grease arabic. plate etch and hydrogum. Without hydrogum, the reservoir: only a perfectly adsorbed gum film mixture may be two-thirds gum arabic and one-third plate on the negative areas. Stronger etches might etch (which is weaker than the mixture containing hydro­ gum). For stone. a typical etch might use 3 drops of nitric cause either of two problems: (I) small dots, acid to an ounce of gum arabic (ph 3.2 to 3.4). For zinc. the which are proportionally thinner as they are mixture may be two-thirds hydrogum and one-third cellu­ smaller in circumference, might be burned out, lose.

93 caused either by too loose an ink or by poor roll Tamarind has recently experimented with up technique. Too light a roll up may be caused water seal. a clear. colorless, watery sealant for by too heavy bodied an ink, or by prior errors brick and cement. Simply painted on slate or in wash off or drawing procedure, or faulty stone. it is absorbed, then sets up. After several drawing materials.2 coats of sealant. buffed in about two hours after The second etch on a grease surface should application, the surface seems to be as imperv­ be of medium strength: 3 to 7 drops on stone ious as after application of epoxy. We have not (pH 3.4 to 2.5), one-third to one-half plate etch yet determined whether water seal will be on plates. On a lacquer surface it is safe to use 7 slowly removed by powerful solvents. It is more drops on stone. one-half plate etch on metal. easily applied than is epoxy, and applications may be renewed from time to time provided that the support is clean. Larger quantities of 2. If losses are experienced on plates. counteretching water seal are required. but its cost is low. procedures and materials should also be checked. Plates should always be counteretched immediately before draw­ ing so as to remove oxides which are constantly forming on their surfaces. Oxides prevent drawing materials from gaining a good footing. a particular problem in the case of polymer airbrush drawings. Fine tones may be lost if. Reclaiming Carborundum, and Other Ways either because of improper counteretching or extended to Beat Inflation in the Workshop storage after counteretching. oxides have formed on the plate. Use of distilled rather than tap water in the polymer I nfiation makes it increasingly difficult to bal­ drawing material. as recommended in this article. should ance budgets in university workshops. With the deter plate oxidation under the dots of spray. For a cooperation of his students, Robert Gardner, discussion of counteretching procedures on aluminum. see Tamarind Master Printer and associate professor TIP 2. pages 15-16. at Carnegie-Mellon Univerity, has moved to reclaim expensive graining materials and to recycle equal~v expensive maple bars. He writes TTP as follows: Plate Support Protection I doubt if there is anything profound or A number of materials are now in use as even new about my process for hand-straining support for plates on the press. Whatever may carborundum, and it is certain that the proce­ be used- an aluminum block, Durel, Benelux, dure can be done by anyone, without special or an old stone-the support should be pro­ training! I simply use a sieve (brass. eight-inch, tected against various forms of wear inherent at Burrell Corporation Catalog No. 75-900). I am the pre . Aluminum. slate and stone will all sure that any company selling scientific equip­ react to water. gums. and acids. causing a slow ment can provide many different kinds of dissolution of the material and creating a sieves. I am using one of sixty mesh simply hollow in the center of the support. This leads because I happened to have one in my store­ in turn to uneven printing pressure and to a hou e of goodies. collected over the years. It situation in which the support can be corrected work fine now. We collect all the used carbo­ only by regaining it to level. The fibrous rundum from the graining bins and spread it materials. although dense. are nevertheless out on plastic sheets on the floor to dry. When porous and over a period of time will absorb dry. we put on dust masks and start straining! It moisture. causing swelling and/or warping. takes several hours to strain about 100 pounds, The e problems can be avoided if support and it is dusty because of the dry stone particles block - whatever the material-are treated with floating through the air. epoxy prior to use. A clear epoxy and hardener The process is feasible in a classroom are mixed together to about the consistency of situation. It takes approximately three times as honey. With rags. the epoxy is rubbed into all long to grind and grain a large stone with surfaces of the support. as one would apply recycled grit as when pure number 100 grit is wax. Hard. smooth buffing is necessary. so that used for image removal. If the recycled grit no re idual epoxy remains on the surface. is kept watery and dark grey in value, no There must be no unevenness. streaks or pools: scratches occur. and when the image has been these must be completely buffed away. The removed. it is possible to go directly to the final epoxy is allowed to cure overnight. after which graining grit- even to "F." if desired. The a second coat is applied in the arne manner as recycled grit forms a finer grain than 100, the fir t. This having been done. the pores of obviously. but it does save money. the support are permanently sealed and im­ At Carnegie-Mellon we still use maple for pervious to water. gum and acids. The coating scraper bars. not yet being able to afford the of epoxy is insoluble in lacquer thinner and pia tic variety. and I am now recycling broken other powerful solvents. bars in order to save even more money. When

94 scraper bars collapse, as they do from time to marks from the first plate) in contact with the time. I trim off the broken parts. cut the sensitized plate and cut the registration marks. remaining pieces into 23!.1 inch lengths on our The Mylar impression was used as a negative; table saw. then glue the pieces together. I then wherever light was allowed to pass though it. r shape (taper) the fabricated pieces with the the color hardened on the plate. The sensitized table aw and belt sander, making a new plate was exposed to a 220 arc lamp for two scraper bar with the grain of the wood running minutes at a distance of 42 inches. vertically instead of horizontally. With the After the exposure. we carefully removed grain running vertically there is less chance of the Mylar negative and transferred the plate to collapse under pressure. a tank where it could be hosed qown with I can also mention that some of our water. After rinsing with cold water, we used a students are using oil paints for lithographic mixture of 11h ounces of household ammonia printing- modifying the paints with litho var­ (sudsy type) to one gallon of water, applying it nish to achieve the tack necessary for printing. over the entire surface with a sponge. This And it works! allows the ammonia solution to lift off the film that has not been exposed to light. The sensi­ tized surface hardens and remains intact where light has penetrated the Mylar. The procedure was repeated on the third. fourth and fifth plate. thus giving the artist a new, accurate, A Quick Color Proof Registration Method greaseless and visible means of drawing the for Drawing Color Separations remaining plates for a multiple color edition. The visible red stain did not pick up any ink Charles Ringness, Tamarind Master Printer, was nor did it cause any scum during the running of studio manager at Graphicstudio in Tampa, the edition. Florida, from 1970 until it closed in 1976. He is For best results, the ink surface of the now teaching at the University of Saskatchewan. Mylar should be carefully dusted with red iron In a recent leuer from Saskatoon he tells of a oxide so as to make it more opaque before method for placing a key drawing on each using it as a negative. Use only a small amount printing element, in reference for accurate color of oxide and wipe off the excess with a soft registration. cloth. While working at Philip Pearlstein's studio in New York. I encountered the problem of Upon receipt of Ringness' lelter we talked by tinding a method for an accurate, greaseless telephone: and visible tracing on the plates to be drawn. A J. S. Can the artist draw over the areas which new solution had to be found to replace the have been developed in red with litho­ traditional method of tracing, including regis­ graphic drawing materials- pencil and tration marks. from the first plate drawn. the rubbing crayon. water and solvent re-tracing through a conte-coated sheet of tusches? on to the other plates. This tradi­ C. R. Yes. The red image [Kwik-Proof Color tional method was not accurate and did not Proofing solution] is not a resist, nor record enough information to begin the draw­ does it have greasy properties that ing of the remaining plates. Since pulling a would affect a drawing. proof from the first plate would not work, J. S. Do drawings over the red coating pro­ several alternate methods were attempted. cess well? Time a nd materials were just sliding by. C. R. Very well. The etch does not even recog­ Nothing eemed to work. Oscar Bailey collabo­ nize that the K wik-Proof product is on rated with me as a consultant. and within a the plate. matter of minutes we had given up on every J. S. Is there a difference in the roll up be­ solution we considered. tween the red and non-red areas? I suggested that we try K wik-Proof Color C. R. No. There is no difference in the roll up. Prooting solution. I had used it before and had All parts of the drawing roll up exactly found that it gave a greaseless. accurate and the same. vi ible image when executed photographically. J. S. Have you used K wik-Proof on stone or Fi rst the plate was sensitized with K wik-Proof zinc plates? (red). The solution was applied with a sponge C. R. No. The size and bulk of stone would over the entire surface of the plate. rapidly make it impossible to put it into a wi ped tight with cheesecloth. and left to dry. vacuum frame. Moving rather quickly. the plate was placed in a vacuum frame. We placed a proof printed in In sunny climates stone could, of course, be taken black ink o n Mylar (including registration outdoors for full sun exposure. Use of Kwik-

95 Proof on zinc has nor been tested at Tamarind, I guess what I'm getting at is that those shows of hut there is no reason to assume that results vours in the fifties reported on what was really a would nor be good. Use of the pin registration high moment in European lithography, while it mer hod (see TTP I, pages 8- 11) would eliminate wasn't at all a high moment in the United Sates. transferring T and bar marks to new plates and Artists were struggling under difficult circum­ would simplif.v all drawings and printing pro­ stances, mostly by themselves, somewhat in isola­ cedures. tion. Now, by contrast, the print media are much Direct Reproduction Corporation, makers more visible, facilities are much finer, and the of wipe on Kwik-Proof color proofing materials, schools o_ffer better instruction. A /together, recommends that a Stouffer continuous tone American lithography has moved a long way Sensirivi~v Guide (available at offset supply forward. houses) be used in exposure. Best results are True, there have been remarkable changes. But obtained at solid step four. Temperatures lower I am looking forward to seeing what is happen­ than /7° Celsius (lJO Farenheit) and humidity ing in Europe, too. There were lithographs in he/ow 45% will require increased exposure to the international print exhibition at Bradfol'j, obtain a solid step four. Kwik-Proofsolutions are England, in 1974, but there were also many available from offset supply houses and also screenprints. I think this invidious technique direcr~v from Direct Reproduction Corporation, may cause a great deal of damage to the 835 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Com­ collecting of prints of quality. So often they are plete directions come with the product. reproductive in character, executed by crafts­ men. They lack the quality, the spirit, of the handmade print. Fran9oise Gilot was saying to me just yesterday, here at Tamarind, how great a difference there is when the artist does a VON GROSCHWITZ drawing. rather than turning it over to a continuedfrom page 88 craftsman. yond the fifties Mary Baskett and Kristin You would really have to be an investigative Spangenberg, my successors as print curator, reporter to answer a question about the state of added importa nt items too. prints today. but I am afraid color lithography In the intervening years, the workshops that June doesn't hold the same position in Europe that it Wayne and Tatyana Grosman envisioned in the did twenty years ago. I will be visiting eastern /1./iies have actual(v come into being-nor only Europe as well as Paris and London. This Tamarind and U LA E. but Ken Tyler's and many summer I am going to Vienna, to Ljubljana to others. As .vou look around at lithography today, see their print international. then to Moscow, what differences do you see? Leningrad, Helsinki and Amsterdam, so I will I think the artist has become much more fully be better able to say what is going on there aware of the possibilities of lithography. There when I return. was a good bit of technical experimentation, I know that an impressive number of superb even in the early days-scraping, applying color lithographs have recently been made in gasoline. doing all kinds of new things- but the this country. I am convinced that we should workshops have develo ped far beyond that again focus attention on contemporary color point technically. And the workshops have lithography in the form of a biennial or tri­ brought in very fine printing, which is so ennial exhibition- first American, then interna­ important to the finished lithograph. I would tional- and I am already working on definitive say tha t the technique learned by the artists pla ns. and the assistance given them by the printers are two very important developments. It is interesting to imagine what would happen if I. Cincinnati Art Museum. One Hundred and Fifty in 1978 the Cincinnati Museum-or any other Years of Lithography. 1948. An Exhibition of 187 litho­ museum-were to try again to organize an inter­ graphs. Foreword by Gustave von Groschwitz. national exhibition of color lithography. If y ou 2. Mr. von Groschwitz was with the Federal Art Project from 1935 to 1938. at Wesleyan University from were to try to project such an exhibition in y our 1938 to 1945. and at the Institute of Fine Arts from 1945 to mind's eye, do y ou think there would be a 1947. d!!Jerent relationship between the American and 3. A 1938 exhibition, "Printmaking: a New Tradi­ European lithographs? What would you expect tion." included a special section of twenty-three color to find? lithographs. Well, Picasso is gone . .. Mir6 and Chagall are 4. Beginning in 1960. the biennial series was broadened to include prints in media other than lithog­ still working, but they are old men. I am going raphy. It came to an end when in 1962 Mr. von Groschwitz to Europe this summer, so I will have an left Cincinnati to become director of the Carnegie Institute opportunity to see what is being done. Museum of Art in Pittsburgh.

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