Printmaking in the Time of COVID-19. Douze Contemporains 1959, a portfolio challenge.

COVID – 19 is hampering the collective spirit of printmakers, forcing us to work alone rather in the shops we share.

Athraigh Print Studio challenges printmakers to reach out to each other and organize invitational virtual portfolios. Please share this and please post your portfolios to help fill the days of those practicing the prescribed (by science) isolation.

For motivation please look at a few examples from, Douze Contemporains 1959, a portfolio of twelve prints created by Braque, Chagall, Derain, Dufy, Leger, Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso, Rouault, Utrillo, Villon and Vlaminck (organized by J. Lassaigne and printed with pochoir by Daniel Jacomet).

Andre Derain

Paysage, from Douze Contemporains, 1959

Lithograph with Pochoir

Henri Matisse

La Danse, (1931) from Douze Contemporains,1959

Lithograph with Pochoir

Georges Braque

Les Barques Sur La Plage, from Douze Contemporains, 1959

Lithograph with Pochoir

Fernand Leger

L'Artiste dans le Studio, from Douze Contemporains, 1959

Lithograph with Pochoir

Raoul Dufy

Paddock, from Douze Contemporains, 1959

Lithograph with Pochoir

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Here's the video version:

 

I’d be excited to share your COVID - 19 small print portfolios on the main website:

https://www.joelelginathraighprintstudio.com/

Printmaking in the Time of COVID-19. “Henri Matisse, Selected Pochoir Prints”

COVID – 19 has been the motivation for the run of depression era prints I’ve posted most recently. The themes of breadlines, unemployment and financial crisis seem to be repeating.

To cheer youall up, today’s video features the Fauve rich color of Henri  Matisse and a peek into how he made the color happen in his prints.

The career of Henri Matisse (1869 – 1954) encompasses nearly all media and numerous areas of content. The possibilities of colorful cut shapes printed using the pochoir technique, first utilized to reproduce his Jazz Portfolio in 1943, enchanted Matisse, and caused him to leave painting and concentrate on his famous cut outs.

So what is pochoir?

Pochoir is a direct technique for hand coloring through a stencil usually in conjunction with intaglio or  lithography.  A stencil was cut from a thin metal and the stencil and stencil-brush were  used to create the complete image or to add color selectively to a printed image. A separate stencil was created for each color. On occasion, up to forty stencils were used. 

Pochoir printing was most popular in Paris, from the late 19th century through the 1930’s. At the peak of its popularity, there were dozens of studios in France using this technique, each employing up to 600 workers.

By the mid twentieth century, pochoir was replaced in popularity by more mechanized forms of color printing such as lithography and serigraphy. Pochoir’s expense and time intensive process help relegate the practice to the dusty shelves of most printmaker’s techniques.

Odalisque au Tambourin, 1929.

Color pochoir (hand-colored stencil print after a study for the painting of the same title).

Harmonie Jaune, 1929.

Color pochoir (hand-colored stencil print) after a painting.

La Séance du Matin, 1924.

Color pochoir (hand-colored stencil print) after a painting.

La Séance de Trois Heures, 1924.

Color pochoir (hand-colored stencil print) after a painting.

The Nightmare of the White Elephant, from Jazz, 1947

Color pochoir with gouache on ivory wove paper.

The Codomas, from Jazz, 1947.

Color pochoir with gouache on ivory wove paper.

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After looking at these Matisse prints, I'm pulling Pochoir off my own dusty shelf.

Please catch the video version of this post:

Joel Elgin, Athraigh Studio. Printmaking in the Time of COVID-19. A Series of Small Exhibitions: “Jacob Lawrence: The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture”

Joel Elgin, Athraigh Studio.

Printmaking in the Time of COVID-19. A Series of Small Exhibitions:

“Jacob Lawrence: The Life of Toussaint L’Ouverture”

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), is more well known than many of the other printmakers recently featured by Athraigh Studios. We might know his prints in general but let’s take a specific look at his brilliant series, the “Toussaint L'Ouverture.”

Content first: Jacob Lawrence is depicting Toussaint L’Ouverture the mastermind behind the Haitian Revolution. In the last years of the 1700’s Toussaint L’Ouverture won independence from Europe, defeated Napoleon’s army, and brought Haiti out of slavery. In 1804, after the people who were then referred to as “slaves” won their freedom by force, Haiti became the first black republic in the West.

Form: In 1936, at the age of 21, Jacob Lawrence created 41 paintings of the life of L’Ouverture. In 1986, Lawrence produced 15 silk screens inspired by the original paintings.

I’ve included only 5 images from the series for today’s presentation but I encourage you two go to the following link to see the entire series, including a description written by Lawrence of each print.

https://www.davidsongalleries.com/artists/modern/jacob-lawrence/toussaint-louverture/

General Toussaint L'Ouverture

Silk screen on Bainbridge two ply rag paper, 1986

The Coachman

Silk screen on Bainbridge two ply rag paper, 1990

Strategy

Silk screen on Rising two ply rag paper, 1994

Deception

Silk screen on Rising two ply rag paper, 1997

To Preserve Their Freedom

Silk screen on Bainbridge two ply rag paper, 1988

 Want to see the video version of this exhibition?

Stay well and learn about prints!

https://www.joelelginathraighprintstudio.com/

Joel Elgin, Athraigh Studio. Printmaking in the Time of COVID-19. A Series of Small Exhibitions: Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889-1953)

Each day, COVID – 19 challenges our lives in new ways. Balancing quality of life with safety is much like being on a tightrope.

The image of a tightrope always reminds me of Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Many of his prints and painting are about wire walkers and his life itself was a wirewalk; one side Japan and the other the U.S.  

At the age of 16, Kuniyoshi left Japan, alone and emigrated to the United States. He studied at the Art Students League, National Academy of Design and began exhibiting in New York. His prints embodied both Japanese and American influence.

In 1941, following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he was classified by the United States government as an enemy alien. He was prohibited from travel, owning a camera and had his bank account frozen, further he was subject to a curfew. Though during the war, he created art for the American propaganda effort, Yasuo Kuniyoshi was never allowed to become an American citizen.

Wire Walker

Lithograph, 1928

Circus Girl #1 (On the Wire)

Lithograph, 1930

Trapeze Girl

Lithograph, 1936

Wire Performer.

Lithograph, 1938.

The Cyclist

Lithograph, 1939

Two Acrobats

Lithograph, 1928

Thanks for reading!

Please check out the video version of this post:

Joel Elgin, Athraigh Studio. Printmaking in the Time of COVID-19. A Series of Small Exhibitions: Earl Klein

COVID – 19 has left me with some extra time to ponder not only printmaking but politics, as a result let me introduce you to:

"SUPER PRESIDENT"

The cartoon Super President ran for thirty episodes on Saturday mornings from 1967 to 1968.

As a result of having been caught in a cosmic rainstorm, James Norcross, President of the United States, could change his molecules to any form he wanted. He also possessed super strength and the power of flight. He had a bumbling VP, who he often had to save.

Sound good?  It wasn’t, creator David DePatie quoted: "I think it was really the worst thing we've ever made. It was a real turkey…”

Printmaker Earl Klein worked on Super President as a Director.

Earl Klein (1915 – 1993) was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied at the Cleveland School of Art and the Chicago Art Institute. He moved to LA in 1940 and spent the next 20 years working as an animator and producer.

During his time in LA, he continued to make prints. The aquatint, Compassion, caught my eye. The print expresses an attribute that even more clearly now in this time of COVID – 19, our own current, not super president, lacks…

Compassion

Aquatint, 1950

Ghandi 1960

Night-Time in the City,

open bite aquatint and etching, 1961 

 (American) Beach Scene

etching and aquatint

So I leave you with another image of Super President and a few links to learn more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsWistJC6AY

https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/a-nonpartisan-leader-for-our-times-super-president/

Please check out the video version of this post:

Stay well and learn about prints!

https://www.joelelginathraighprintstudio.com/

Joel Elgin, Athraigh Studio. Printmaking in the Time of COVID-19. A Series of Small Exhibitions: Ethel Gabain.

COVID – 19 continues to keep us isolated as this new week begins. So lets continue to learn about printmakers, especially those who are ignored by art schools…

Athraigh Print Studio offers you a short exhibition of lithographs by Ethel Gabain. 

Ethel Gabain was born in France in 1883. She was educated as a lithographer and became a founding member of the Senefelders club in 1909. She made over 300 lithographs and about 25 etchings. As you will see, the prints cover a range of subjects and are all brilliantly executed. I will show you works from two of her important series.

In 1922 she was commissioned to make 22 lithographs illustrating Jane Eyre. The lithos were published in an edition of 495 copies.

Adèle Dancing

Lithograph, 1922

The Mad Woman

Lithograph, 1922

Jane Aiding Rochester

Lithograph, 1922

In 1940, Ethel Gabain was commissioned by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee to produce four lithographs of Women’s Voluntary Services members. She selected subjects she believed epitomized the heroism of women including the Women’s Auxiliary Transport (WAT)

who delivered Lancaster bombers singlehandedly.

Women's Work In The War:  Captain Pauline Gower Of The Women's Air Transport Auxiliary.

Lithograph, 1940

Women's Work In The War:  Salvage Workers.

Lithograph, 1940

Women's Work In The War:  Sorting And Flinging Logs.

Lithograph, 1940

Throughout her career, Ethel Gabain created lithos side by side with her husband John Copley. Please check the following link to learn more of her extraordinary life:

https://www.copleygabain.com/artists/copley

Please check out the video version of the exhibition:

Joel Elgin, Athraigh Studio. Printmaking in the Time of COVID-19. A Series of Small Exhibitions: John Copley. Easter Weekend Exhibition

COVID – 19 has forced the cancellation of many of this Easter weekend’s important religious events. Services, rituals  and celebrations will not involve the gatherings of people that we are all used to, but the meaning behind the weekend lives on.

Athraigh Print Studio offers you an exhibition of lithographs by John Copley. Copley and his wife, lithographer, Ethel Gabain, produced complex color lithos as well as etchings but preferred the directness of achromatic lithography.

Jesus on the Road to Jerusalem

Lithograph 1933

The Scribes Disputing with Jesus

Lithograph, 1923

Jesus and a Woman of the Streets

Lithograph 1923

Precious Ointment

Lithograph 1923

Jesus going Down to the Passover

Lithograph 1924

Gethsemane

Lithograph 1928

Jesus Nailed to the Cross

Lithograph  1928

Jesus Raised on the Cross

Lithograph 1924

Jesus Taken from the Cross

Lithograph 1924

Jesus Carried to the Tomb (1st state)

Lithograph 1924

Please check out the video version of the John Copley Easter Weekend Exhibition:

Easter Weekend Exhibition 1

John Copley. Easter Exhibition 2 

Thanks for tuning in!