Hard Pressed: 600 Years of Prints and Process [Hardcover]

David Platzker (Author), Elizabeth Wyckoff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2000

This invaluable publication surveys the history of printmaking with a particular focus on artists and works that expand the boundaries of various media, including woodcuts, etchings, engravings, lithographs, mezzotints, screenprints, and more, right up to the digital and photographic processes of today.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Appreciation for the art of printmaking swells and recedes in cycles. Just five years old, the International Print Center of New York may help anchor this medium's credibility at last. As part of the effort, curators Platzker and Wyckoff have produced a fine introduction that accompanies a major exhibit at the center. Two essays and plenty of illustrations cover all methods and time periods. Not overly technical in his approach, Wyckoff tackles the essentialsDwho mastered this technique and how and why they did soDgiving readers a better understanding of the medium's historical context. Platzker follows up with its social milieu, from construction to impact. His observations are crucial to a full understanding of this art. Highly recommended for any collection but especially useful for public libraries and undergraduate collections.DSusan Lense, Upper Arlington P.L., OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

DAVID PLATZKOFF is the Director of Printed Matter in New York, the leading clearing house for artist's books, and co-author of the Hudson Hills Press book Printed Stuff: Prints, Posters and Ephemera of Claes Oldenburg. ELIZABETH WYCKOFF is Print Specialist, Print Collection, New York Public Library, and formerly worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Product Details

• Hardcover: 126 pages
• Publisher: Hudson Hills Press (October 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555951929
• ISBN-13: 978-1555951924
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #947,850 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll Be Hard Pressed to Find A Better Book on Prints, January 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Hard Pressed: 600 Years of Prints and Process (Hardcover)

This book brilliantly tells the story of the history of the "fine art print" from a fresh prospective. It begins around 1400, when papermaking was introduced to Europe from the East, and the development of woodblock printmaking enabled the creation of the first woodcut prints. What follows is 600 years of technological and artistic innovation: by the 1450s, the printing press had been invented, allowing bibles and broadsheets, as well as simple, devotional pictures to be produced quickly and cheaply. Words and images, with their information and ideas, became available not just to an elite few, but to ordinary people.

The books two essays by Wyckoff and Platzker detail the development of printmaking though artistic experimentation to create a distinctive art form, how new processes allowed images with specific visual characteristics-from early, rough woodcuts, to more refined linear methods such as etching and engraving; from the delicate tonal approaches of mezzotint and aquatint to recent computerized techniques. It delves in particular into how some artists embraced new methods matching innovative techniques with visual invention; while others subverted them.

Artists such as Rembrandt in the 17th century and Edward Ruscha in the 20th century are shown to have conceived of the print as a virtually unique object. The approach is informed by the 20th century notion of the "original print" produced in small, limited editions, continuing the tradition of printmaking as a fine art.

In this book, which accompanies a traveling exhibition, details how printmaking has throughout its history been both a medium for communicating ideas of all kinds and an arena for artistic invention. Imagine for a moment the world without books or newspapers, without posters or postcards. Then follow the history of experimentation and artistic vision that is presented here to discover printmaking as an art form of unexpected possibilities.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A highly recommended acquisition for art library collections, April 4, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hard Pressed: 600 Years of Prints and Process (Hardcover)

An outstanding presentation and recommended pick for discriminating art library collections. David Platzker's Hard Pressed gathers 600 years of prints and technical information, from woodcuts and etchings to digital modern processes. This is much more than a collection of print images however; text provides a running history which includes profiles of key artists, discussions of technical advancements, and insights on print reproduction changes. Black and white and color photos abound.