There is a great exhibition on at the NGV (fed square) for anyone in Melbourne. The exhibition showcases Australian Print Workshop and shows plates, print states and processes of works by four artists: Patricia Piccinini, Megan Cope, Tim Maguire and Shaun Gladwell produced in collaboration with Master Printmakers including Martin King (who is coming to teach a workshop with us in October). The exhibition is both a great insight into the development of print works between printmakers and artists, as well as an in-depth celebration of print and techniques.
Following are images of Tim Maguire's print CMY Dice Abstract 9:
This was a print made from publishing's colour separations (the four colours used to make a full colour image in magazines: yellow, magenta, cyan and black - yet Maguire didn't use black in these prints). If you know Maguire's paintings, the playfulness of this print process has a lovely link to the artists other work. The artist made four abstract drawings and these were enlarged and transferred photographically to metal plates. To determine the final prints, dice were thrown to chose the variations of the printing process: the plates used; the colour the plate would be inked with; and the order the plates would be printed in.
The following is one of the combinations...
1. original charcoal drawings used in CMY Dice Abstract 9
2. Plate with one of the drawings enlarged and transferred (see the charcoal drawings above for which one)
3. The first state yellow proof (determined by dice throw to be the first plate/ ink layer in this edition, notice which charcoal drawing this one is?)
3. The magenta proof (second plate used in this print edition)
4. The cyan proof (using the metal plate photographed above, third plate used in the final print)
5. The final print
Each iteration of plates and colours and layer order created a very different print, really beautiful use of chance and process.