My primary goal in teaching this unit will be to encourage my students to draw a connection from where we are today in commercial art and printing to where we were in the past. It will give them the history of printing and commercial art in general by using fine art as a bench gauge. I will show them that what was important in society is reflected in fine art. By showing them advertisements of the period, I will also be able to teach them to visualize all of the different types of printing processes and how each changed and evolved in a relevant way. It will demonstrate to the students that world events that spawn huge leaps in technology, such as world wars, impacted printing, fine art, and society in a totally encompassing way.

My secondary goal will be to make each student aware of the changing values of society and how these values are reflected in fine art and commercial art, and at least let them know that there are alternative values available other than materialism. I will discuss with the students the loss of fundamental values, such as stewardship of the land, conservation, the need for family by society, and its being replaced in society by materialism and the premise that all individual needs should come first.

To develop an appreciation of fine art and its importance to society

To demonstrate the ability to correctly identify the different types of pictorial reproduction processes and list the processes in chronological order

To develop an appreciation for how commercial art has influenced society in general and advertising in particular

To develop the ability to utilize all available resources to do effective historical research

To demonstrate the ability to properly produce a linoleum block print, utilizing all drawing and carving tools and techniques

To demonstrate the effective use of the wooden moveable block printing process

 

In my unit I will endeavor to teach the students the history of commercial art and its close ties to the world of fine art. Even if the techniques used to create fine art do differ from those used to create commercial art, many of the fundamental ideas that both types of art are attempting to portray are the same. As fine art is said to be a mirror of the country’s mood at the time that the work of art was created, so are the values of the time reflected in the commercial art of the period. By using time lines of both fine art and commercial art I believe that the student will readily discern the parallels between both art forms. By adding a significant event time line the students will be able to compare the changes that develop in the art lines with the major event that caused the change.

The addition of a fourth time line used to determine the chronological improvements and changes in the printing processes will give the students an understanding of how printing processes and commercial art evolved. Below I discuss the rationale for selecting works of art and the organization of each time line.

In my research I have found that there is a tremendous amount of fine art and commercial art that is readily available to the instructor. The artist’s depiction of a certain person or landscape is not like a photograph in that it depicts the scene as it actually exists. The artist has certain liberties that let the artist add to or remove from anything that might distract or alter the desired overall mood of the painting. Due to the differences in each artist’s background and beliefs, no two artists would paint the scene in the same way. For instance, if an artist of a southern heritage were to paint a scene depicting the life on a pre-Civil War plantation, it would have a predominantly pleasant happy presentation of slavery and plantation life. If the same scene were to be painted by a northern artist of the day it would be quite different. The realization of the loss of personal freedoms and immense suffering imposed on the slave would be the primary mood of the piece. It is because of the vast differences in views of art in any particular time that the instructor must carefully view each work of art and develop a very clear meaning as to what the artist intended the painting to say or portray. Then select the paintings that will best develop in the students the desired value lesson. Due to the great range of the material’s values, it would be very easy to teach many different moral values just by changing the works of art.

For example in my unit I chose to stress the values of home and family. These values are most prevalent in the fine landscapes and genre paintings of the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. The landscapes that I chose depict the pastoral rural farm environment. The genre paintings were represent ordinary people doing everyday things in a rural setting. Most of these had a moral lesson as the premise of the painting or were depictions of families at work, church or play. By using these images and by choosing advertisements that would reflect the changes in the country’s morals and values, I hope the students will develop an understanding of the changing values that the time lines represent.

As easy as it is for me to use my chosen images to show the changes in values and morality, other groupings could be used to handle other issues such as slavery, equal rights, or woman’s suffrage. Because of the vast availability and broad scope of the images, it is of utmost importance that the correct grouping be developed to represent the desired moral value lesson being taught.

As noted above, I believe that the parallels of fine art, commercial art, the evolution of commercial printing and significant events in history can best be taught using four timelines located on a long wall one above the other.

On the top timeline I will have only fine art reproductions that are arranged by the year each was painted. There should no less than one painting for each five-year period.

Each will be accompanied by a small narrative paragraph concerning the painter and nothing more, so as not to influence the student with what others believe the artist is attempting to say, to allow the student to draw his or her own conclusions on the artist’s message. The timeline will begin with landscapes and genre paintings of the mid-nineteenth century to the more modernistic paintings of the 1940’s, representing each notable style or change that took places in between. By letting the student examine and study the fine art reproductions I believe they will develop a sense of appreciation for the artwork itself, and a rudimentary understanding of the time in which it was made. The instructor, who will select images that convey the moral lessons desired, will construct this timeline.

The students will do the construction of the next two timelines. This is the bulk of their assignment and all of their research work. Each student will be provided with a detailed reproduction of an advertisement that was printed between 1830 and 1940. The student will then have to research the advertisement. I believe that dissecting the advertisement in two ways will be the best way to approach this. First the student will determine in what way the ad was reproduced. What method of printing was used? Was a printing press used and if so, what type? Where was the ad from? Was it from a newspaper, a flyer, a billboard, or from a shop window? Secondly, what does the ad say and depict? Was the ad targeted at a rural segment or an urban one? What was the ad attempting to sell? How would this item fit into the wants or needs of the segment of society for whom it was targeted? I believe that in answering each of these questions the student will be able to realize the major impact advertising has on society and how, over time, it has fundamentally altered it. They will then locate it chronologically on the time line, make a presentation to the class, and install their advertisement at its proper point.

The third timeline will depict the printing processes or techniques used through out the years covered by the timeline. The student will also properly place their ad on this line not only by the process used but also by the year that the advertisement was printed. This will show the students that several different printing techniques were used simultaneously over the span of the timeline. It will also provide dates for the beginning and end of each printing technique.

The fourth and final timeline is a line of world events that took place from 1800 to 1940. By using this timeline, prepared by the instructor, in comparison with the other student-made timelines, the student will be able to visualize the changes in technology after a major event in history, such as a war. They will also develop a basic understanding of why the changes in the moral dynamics of the country took place.

The information provided below, is background information on the history of the different printing techniques. It should be used by the instructor to enhance the presentation for the classroom lessons. This can be accomplished with demonstrations of the chosen processes, or touching on the processes of interest in a lecture format.

Prior to 1440, almost all printing was done by hand-lettering and hand-painting each illustration. In 1440 there was a new development, using the Relief method of printing. This method was to cut into a wooden block of hard wood, such as birch, maple or cherry, on the softer side grain, removing all the negative space but leaving what was to be printed untouched. This was widely accepted and used until the advent of moveable type in 1464. Moveable type involves blocks of wood with only one letter on each block. This way each letter could be locked into a plate, printed, broken down, cleaned and then reused over and over. Wood was later replaced with cast lead letters. This movable letter system worked well for the reproduction of text, but to reproduce an image or illustration quickly and of high quality was a problem.

The first improvement after the wood relief block was the introduction of the Intaglio printing process. Intaglio is the Italian word for cut into. The first of the three intaglio printing techniques to be used was wood engraving. This was first used in about 1445; it differs from wood block printing in that the wood engraving is cut onto the end grain of the wood. End grain is harder to cut and will hold a finer line much longer than the wood block’s side grain. The wooden plate is inked, the ink pools into the cut out areas, the top of the plate is wiped clean. Damp soft paper is put on top of and in direct contact with the top of the plate. Pressure is then applied and the print is made. Due to the process the image will be printed in reverse.

The second of these printing methods was metal engraving. This was first done by Martin Schongauer around 1457. This process took sharp steel tools and cut lines in a soft metal plate, usually copper. Ink was then applied to the plate. The excess was wiped off. Damp soft paper was put on top of and in direct contact with the plate. A roll press supplied pressure. The paper was then removed from the press and the image was successfully transferred in reverse. The metal engraving process made a strong, wear-resistant plate capable of many reproductions before plate wear could be noticed in print quality. The drawback with metal engraved plates is the need to have highly skilled engravers to make the very detailed plates. Engraving is time and labor intensive, making each plate expensive.

The last of the intaglio processes was that of etching. Etching was first done in 1504 by Daniel Hopfer. Mr. Hopfer was a waffenmaler by trade. That is to say, he decorated weapons. Etching is the process of using acid to bite the desired designs into the plate. To make an etched plate the copper plate was first cleaned, polished and the corners removed. It was then chemically cleaned using a covering of salt moistened with vinegar or lemon juice. The plate, once chemically clean, could not be touched by hand on the surface until the etcher’s ground was applied. Etcher’s ground is made up of 1 part gum mastic, 1 part dry asphaltum and 2 parts beeswax. This is melted into a ball then rubbed over the warm dry plate leaving an acid-resistant coating.

The flame of a candle was then applied to the surface of the plate. The black soot from the candle would make it easier to see where the marks from the etcher's needle would be. The plate would then either be hand cut using the stylus, or a damp pencil drawing would be put on top of a carbon sheet to transfer it to the etcher’s ground. The drawing would then be hand cut through the etcher’s ground, with the stylus, making sure not to cut through to the copper plate. Next the plate is acid etched with a 20 or 30 percent mixture of nitric acid in water. The plate stands in the mixture until it stops bubbling, then it is washed with water. The process is repeated until the desired depth of etching is acquired. The plate is then warmed, and the etcher’s ground is wiped off. The plate is then cleaned in gasoline, dried, and is ready to print. The plate is printed in the same way as all the intaglio plates. This process took much less time than engraving. It also did not require as highly skilled craftsman as the engraving process, thereby making etching a cheaper method of image reproduction. The only drawback to etching is that the etched lines are not as sharp as the lines left by the engraving process. It was one of these processes that would have been used in conjunction with moveable type to do all printing until the mid 1800s.

In the year 1839, Louis Daguerre made practical the photographic process. Since that development we have continued to improve the process to make it the only process in use today in standard printing.

Fine art reproductions, on the other hand, were printed using several different processes. Prior to the late 1700 art prints were made using the same techniques that were used in commercial printing. Here we will only highlight the most predominate, this was Planography. Planography means printing on a flat surface. The first of three planography techniques that we will discuss is lithography. Alois Senefelder first used lithography in 1796 in experiments to reproduce sheet music. He worked with calcareous stone, which was 97% limestone. The stone lithography process is done by first graining the stone. This meant to sand the surface of the stone smooth, flat and clean. This is done with a series of abrasives, starting with sea sand and water. Next would be quartz, then finally the pumice stone for final polishing and cleaning. At this point in the process the stone could be prepared in two different ways.

You could draw directly on the stone with either a grease crayon or liquid tush for pen and brush work. Or for the more detailed work you could take the drawing you wished to reproduce, copy it onto tracing paper, reverse it by placing the carbon paper behind it, then cover it with carbon from a soft lead pencil. Then the printer would apply the drawing to the surface of the stone. The drawing will appear after the paper is removed.

The drawing is then sketched over, using any of the 5 degrees of hardness grease crayons, the harder the finer the line, using the pencil lines as guide lines. Then the stone is etched using a solution of gumarabic crystals in water mixed to a creamy consistency with just enough nitric acid to make the solution foam slightly on the stone. The solution is left on overnight and washed off the next day with water. The etching is repeated until the etching reaches the desired depth. Once satisfied that the etching is deep enough one would gum the stone. Mixing the same gum solution without the acid does this. Then one brushes it onto the stone and lets it dry. This is done to protect the stone where it was etched so that no grease or ink would seep into the stone.

Next the crayon and tusch are removed with a rag and turpentine. It is the grease left in the stone that will attract the ink and make the process work. During the whole process the surface of the stone must be kept wet. Each additional color that would be used in lithography would have its own stone prepared the same way. To print, the stone would be inked, then covered with a piece of soft damp paper. Heavy blankets would be put on top of the paper, and then it would be roll pressed to apply the necessary pressure. The paper would be removed and placed again on the next color stone until all desired colors are added. This method made very desirable prints at a reasonable coast. The drawback was that after only a short time, the stone's image would start to break down, loosing all the fine lines and becoming fuzzy.

Metal plate lithography is very similar to the stone lithography in how the plate was prepared and printed. Originally, the only difference was the use of the copper plate instead of the stone. This printing process had the same drawbacks as stone lithography but was cheaper to print. Over the years this method of printing, now called offset lithography, has revolutionized the world of printing and is the primary technique in all commercial printing. The process to make an offset plate begins with a thin aluminum plate covered with photosensitive material. If the plate is to be a full text plate, then only the photographic negative is needed. If the plate is to have an image on it, the image will either have to be shot with a half tone screen or scanned with a computer to change the image into the dot matrix system. This will let the ink be broken down to different sized dots in each very small section of the plate. When printing you can not print gray or light gray with black ink. By using either of the two systems, half tones or dot matrix, you are tricked into seeing these colors but it is really just different sized dots. White would have a 5% dot in each square, black a 95% dot in the square.

This will give the perception of color grading. Once the negative is made it is cut to size and taped with red light impenetrable tape into a goldenrod sheet, which is then placed over and in contact with the plate. This is done with the negative placed right reading, or with all the text being readable. The plate is then exposed to intense light, usually from an arc light. It is then developed by washing it with plate developer, then washed in water and placed on the offset press. The press will ink the plate; the ink will not stick to the plate because it is wet, but will stick to the image, which repeals water. The press will then transfer the image to the blanket with direct contact. The blanket then comes in contact with the paper and the image and text are printed. The process is quick, cheap, and the plate has a very long life. No better system has been developed that will give better results as fast or as cheaply for long press runs.

The last lithographic process is the photo-gelatin process. Although very similar in the results as metal plate lithography, the photo-gelatin process does not need to have the image broken down into dots to gain color gradation. The process is designed for the truest, almost photographic reproduction available to the commercial printer.

Collotype, which is what this process is called in America, is sometimes confused with a high quality, metal plate process called photogravure as the resulting print is very similar. The process works on the action of light on gelatin in the presence of a bichromate.

Gelatin, when mixed with a quanity of bichromate of potash or of ammonia can be affected by light after the water is removed. When kept away from light, the mixed gelatin will swell in cold water or dissolve in hot water. Once exposed to a light source the gelatin will become hard and will not absorb water or dissolve. A layer of this bichromated gelatin is applied to a thick glass plate in several applications. A photographic negative is then placed over the plate and the plate is exposed to light. The more light reaching the plate through the negative will effect the gelatin by making it harder and less soluble. Unexposed areas will be entirely soluble and all the gradations of development in-between will be soft to some degree until the plate is totally exposed and hard. The degree of solubility will determine how much water will stick to the plate and how much ink will stick to the plate, there by giving the plate actual color gradation. To print the plate, the plate is inked, the paper is put over and in contact with the plate, a slight pressure is applied and the print is made. It is an exact duplicate of the original. This method of reproduction is costly and time consuming but gives a very high quality reproduction. It is used most often to reproduce fine art, fashion plates and theatrical pictures.

The previously mentioned printing processes are the most commonly used processes. These last three processes were not used in printing but were used exclusively in the reproduction of fine art.

The process of soft ground etching is used primarily to reproduce shaded pencil drawings. To make the plate a copper sheet is polished and covered with etcher’s ground mixed with tallow. The make up of etcher’s ground was discussed in the previous text. By mixing the etcher’s ground with the tallow it will allow the etcher’s ground to stay soft. The drawing to be reproduced is made on thin paper with a preferable rough finish. The paper is then moistened and laid over and in contact with the plate. The edges of the paper are then folded over the corners of the plate and allowed to dry. The drawing is then traced with a soft pencil. The pressure of the pencil on the soft etcher’s ground will cause the ground to adhere to the back of the drawing. As the paper is removed from the plate it will remove the soft etcher’s ground where the pencil strokes are on the drawing and where the coarse finish of the paper has been pressed to it. The drawing will appear on the plate as bare copper. It is then etched and printed just like a metal lithography plate.

The next process, used primarily for watercolor reproduction, is called aquatint. Aquatint is an etching process that differs in the way the ground is applied to the plate. In this process the ground could be either, resin, sulfur or asphaltum powder. The most common method of application is to put the ground in a small muslin bag, then shake the bag above the plate. This will cause a light dusting of the ground on the surface of the plate. The plate is then heated lightly just until the ground melts and adheres to the plate. In this process the design is drawn directly on to the ground using either a pencil or red crayon. The plate will then be acid etched repeatedly, each time using acid stop on the areas that have reached their proper depth. The finished plate will have many different areas that vary in depth according to the length of time exposed to the acid. The ground is removed, and the plate is printed as in any other etching process.

The last artistic method of reproduction is mezzotint. This art form is almost exclusively used to reproduce fine art portraits. A mezzotint is most closely related to an engraving in that it is a mechanical process and not acid that actually makes the plate. The making of the mezzotint plate takes many hours. The plate maker must first take a steel arc knife with little slots cut across the thin edge. With this he will make dotted lines very close to each other in many different directions by pressing this down into the copper plate. All the lines are made using the same pressure and will raise a uniform copper burr all over the entire surface of the plate. Next the design that is to be reproduced is drawn on paper. The prepared plate is filled with a mixture of lamp black and tallow and then smoothed. The mezzotinter will then transfer the design to the plate by first rubbing the back of the drawing with red chalk, then placing the chalk against the plate, and trace the drawing. Unlike most printing methods the mezzotinter now will work to add light to his work, in effect working in reverse of most engravers or etchers.

To add light the mezzotinter burnishes the plate to varying degrees, either lessening or removing the copper burr depending on the amount of light desired in any area of the portrait. When he is satisfied with the result the plate is inked and printed just like any other intaglio plate. When color mezzotints are made, there are two techniques used. The first is to make additional plates for each additional color desired. This is extremely costly and was rarely used. The most common method was to add the colors to where they were desired on the original plate before each printing of the plate.

Other methods of reproduction were used but they were extremely rare and will not be mentioned.

In conclusion this information should be used at the discretion of the instructor to help highlight the printing techniques that were chosen as important steps in the evolution of the printings process. This information was researched from the books listed in

appendix b.

The student’s main focus will be on researching their individual advertisements. Time will be allotted to give them full access to the library facilities. If time is hard to schedule, an arrangement can be made with the librarian to take all materials prevalent to the student’s research to the classroom until all research is completed. The student’s research will be to determine which of the printing processes was used to print the ad originally. This will let the student demonstrate their knowledge of the differences in the appearances of the finish copy of each printing process. The ad must then be dated. This is sometimes the harder task as the student must now analyze the ad’s content, such as the clothing on the models, their hair styles, the item being advertised can be also used to date the ad. Once the ad is dated and the process of its origin been determined the student will give a five to ten minute oral presentation to the class. This presentation must also include how the product advertised impacted society and to which segment of society the ad was targeted. At the completion of the presentation the student will place his or her ad on both the printing process line and the chronological time lines.

While preparing their oral presentation the students will view a series of lecture demonstrations by the instructor on the printing processes. The lecture demonstrations will be in a chronological sequence starting with the linoleum block and ending with metal plate offset lithography.

Student projects will be used to help impress on them, that the reasons for improving the processes, were to make better clearer copy, to be able to make more copies faster, and to be able to make them cheaper without the need for highly skilled labor.

As the student completes each project they will develop an understanding of the entire process from concept to completion. They will develop a working knowledge with each process strengths and drawbacks. Their first project will be to carve a linoleum block. They will then mount it to a wooden back up block, and print it. They will also make a moveable wooden letter block print using the wooden letters and press in the shop.

This experience will let the students actually see for them selves just how valuable the improvement of the moveable wooden type was to printing.

Upon their completion of the block prints the students will then print three different offset lithography projects on the metal plate offset press. To complete these projects the student will have to use the computer to generate a paper positive. Use the darkroom and darkroom camera to take a picture of the paper positive and generate a film negative. Tape the negative properly in a goldenrod sheet. Expose and develop a metal photosensitive plate, and print the plate on the offset printing press.

Bibliography

 

Broekhuizen,Richard J. Graphic Communications. New York, New York: Chas. A. Bennett Co., 1952

Clark, Florence E. Craftsmen in Graphic Arts. Scranton, Pa.: International Tex book Company 1942

Cleeton & Pitkin. General Printing. Bloomington, Illinois: McKnight & McKnight Publishing Company 1953

Craven, Wayne. American Art. Boston, Mass.: McGraw Hill 1994

Davidson, Abraham A. The Story of American Painting. New York, New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc. 1974

Hale, Frank D. Printing Methods for Beginners. Jersey City, New Jersey: F. D. Hale 1950

*Holme, Bryan Advertising . New York, New York: Viking Press 1982

*Hornung, Clarence P. & Johnson Fridolf. 200 YRS of American Graphic Arts. New York, New York: George Braziller, Inc. 1976

Hughes, Robert. American Visions. New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf 1997

Kagy, Frederick D. Graphic Arts. Homewood Illinois: The goodheart-Willcox co.1965

Karch, R. Randolph. Graphic Arts Procedures. New York, New York: American Technical Society 1948

Kauffmann, Desire. Graphic Arts Crafts. New York, New York: D. Van Nostrand company 1948

Kielty, Bernardine. Masters Of Painting. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company 1964

*Marinaccio, Anthony Exploring The Graphic Arts. Princeton, New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand Company 1959

* Should be used by the instructor exclusively

Appendix A

Below are all the content standards that would be addressed by student’s completing this unit

1. All students demonstrate an understanding of major events, cultures, groups and individuals in the historical development of Pennsylvania, the United States and other nations, and describe the patterns of historical development.

8. All students demonstrate that they can work effectively with others.

3. All students use and master materials, tools and processes of major technologies, which are applied in economic and civic life.

4. All students explain the relationships among science, technology and society.

7. All students evaluate advantages, disadvantages and ethical implications associated with the impact of science and technology on current and future life.

9. All students demonstrate basic computer literacy, including word processing, software applications, and the ability to access the global information infrastructure, using current technology.

1. All students use effective research and information management skills, including locating primary and secondary sources of information with traditional and emerging library technologies.

6. All students exchange information orally, including understanding and giving spoken instructions, asking and answering questions appropriately, and promoting effective group communications.

8. All students compose and make oral presentations for each academic area of study that are designed to persuade, inform or describe.

1. All students describe the meanings they find in various works from the visual and performing arts and literature on the basis of aesthetic understanding of the art form.

2. All students evaluate and respond critically to works from the visual and performing arts and literature of various individuals and cultures, showing that they understand important features of the works.

3. All students relate various works from the visual and performing arts and literature to the historical and cultural context within which they were created.

The books listed below were used for reference in the writing of the background section of the paper.

Anthony Marinaccio, Exploring The Graphic Arts (Princeton, New Jersey: D. Van

Norstrand Company, 1959), 15-22,117-168

Ralph W. Polk, The Practice of Printing (Peoria, Illinois: Chas. A. Bennett Company, 1952), 293-305

The web sites listed below will provide the necessary detailed reproductions of the paintings to be used in this unit.

Art Museum.Net
www.artmuseum.net

Fine Art Museums of San Francisco
www.thinker.org/

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
www.metmuseum.org/

The Museum of Modern Art, New York
www.moma.org/

National Museum of American Art
www.nmaa.si.edu/

The Artchive
www.artchive.com/core.html

National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
www.nag.gov/

The Art Institute of Chicago
www.artic.edu/aic/index.html