Stamp of Distinction  

In 3000 BCE, the Sumerians used cuneiform engravings to create relief impressions on clay tablets. In the 21st century, the art form is still going strong. Last month, Delhi’s Dhoomimal Art Gallery celebrated printmaking with its exhibition Of Divergent Practices: The Trajectory of Printmaking, which showcased a range of works from the likes of Raja Ravi Varma, Chittaprosad Bhattacharya, Somnath Hore, FN Souza, Lalu Prasad Shaw, K Laxma Goud, Manjit Bawa, MF Husain and more.

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Printmaking involves the use of a base, or a matrix—whether wood block, linoleum sheet, metal plate or stone—to transfer an image onto another medium, mostly paper or fabric, or as the ancient Sumerians did, clay. Often a number is attributed to a print.

For example, 6/15 or 8/10. This denotes the particular copy out of the total number made—sixth copy out of a total 15, or eighth out of 10. While the prints are of the same matrix, each image is slightly different. In fact, no artist can fully dictate how the final work will turn out.

The genre in India came into its own in the late 19th century with Raja Ravi Varma’s calendar art. Often known as the ‘king of kitsch’, he combined Indian iconography with Western techniques and styles. Varma took mythological characters and imparted life to them. This was also a time when printing presses were being set up in the country.

Varma’s images of gods and goddesses would be printed and made available to the masses at a nominal price, making it an early instance of budget-friendly art. But this tag of affordability has often been the genre’s bane. Uday Jain, director of Dhoomimal, says, “Many don’t consider printmaking an original art form and hence cannot comprehend its commercial value. People see prints as a mere form of buying a reasonable work of a signature artist. But this is a specialised skill like painting or sculpture. Multiplicity is one of the greatest qualities of printmaking, but in some ways is also a drawback.”

American artist Andy Warhol is known for utilising photography and silkscreen to produce iconic images. But in India, rue artists, these works are not always given their due. “If my friends and I can flaunt the same printed shirt, why can’t we flaunt the same artwork? People queue up outside the Louvre to buy an offset print of famous artists, while a great master’s design often takes a long time to find a market,” says Delhi-based artist and printmaker Anandmoy Banerji.

While talking of India’s printmaking legacy, it is impossible not to mention Somnath Hore, whose 1943 Bengal famine canvas of pain and despair is a study of the piercing yet subdued power of intaglio printmaking. He was instrumental in setting up two institutes dedicated to the genre in India—Delhi Polytechnic and Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, when he was teaching there. “Its graphic quality of makes the medium more enigmatic,” says Hore’s former student and artist Anupam Sud.

This quality sometimes lends a picture book or comic book effect to printmaking. But the themes are far from comic. Most are dark and brooding—the predominant use of black and muted colours add to it—while some like artist Sushanta Guha’s works have a tinge of magical realism. “A lot of experiments are going on in printmaking mediums internationally, but in the Indian context, it is still insignificant because of less patronage and unavailability of suitable materials for the artist,” he says.

New technology too is making it easier for artists to experiment. “The art will appear contemporary if the approach is fresh. Young artists are aware of this and trying to incorporate new ideas and techniques like digital printing and computer graphics, engravings on various surfaces, 3D printing and more,” says Dattatraya Apte, who studied printmaking at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.

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Noida-based printmaker Kavita Nayar, who prefers the ‘surprise element’ that is attributed to the medium—where the artist does not have full control over the final outcome—agrees with Apte. “Technology has revolutionised the genre. Digital printing helps to create intricate designs and reproduce them with precision. Computer-aided designs and tools also make it easier to manipulate images and one can actually experiment with different colour palettes. Digital platforms have also made it easier for artists to share ideas and market their prints online,” she says.