Printmaking Today: A Studio Handbook by Jules Heller, and: Introducing Relief Printing by John O’Connor (review)

Books 373 The Proceedings do not give many answers but do raise a lot of questions. The papers well reflect the state of sculpturetoday by also treating, for example, the impact of concerns for the environment in society. I found the inclusion of the discussions of papers especially valuable, for the spontaneous responses frequently clarify and expand the scope of the prepared statements. They give the reader a feeling of the animated atmosphere of the meetings. Naturally, much of the information given by lecturers, who relied heavily on the projection of slides, cannot be conveyed in a book that contains only a limited number of illustrations. Those who were fortunate to be able to attend the well-prepared Conference, undoubtedly, retain an advantage over those who must depend on the printed Proceedings. Printmaking Today: A Studio Handbook. Jules Heller. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York and London, 1972. 344 pp., illus. f4.95. Introducing Relief Printing. John O’Connor. B. T. Batsford, London, 1973. 128 pp., illus. El .90. Reviewed by Romas Viesulas* Lately the exuberant interest for prints has resulted in a virtual shower of literature on printmaking. A large selection is available for those interested in either techniques , collecting, collections, history or the printmakers’ world. Heller’s book (a second thoroughly revised version of it, the first one having been published in 1958) is a recent addition to this literature. Generally, when books deal with specific media, they tend to gravitate towards techniques preferred by the author. Heller’s book deals with many print media, e.g., planographic relief, intaglio and stencil processes, each of which he treats exhaustively. The parts that deal with specificmedia, from traditional to new ones, are preceded by short historical introductions on their origins. Information on methods is presented in a thorough manner, with excellent illustrations of results obtained in black and white and in color, though many are unavoidably rather small. In many cases a step-by-step account of methods is given by artists who use them. This approach gives a sense of practicality to the book. Heller calls Printmuking Toduy a studio handbook but it is a great deal more than that. It is informative, with much reference material, delightful to read and a joy to look at. Seldom does a book achieve so much. There is a useful section on workshop equipment and on materials, with an index of sources of supplies in the U.S.A., England, Canada, Italy and France. A glossary is provided but it could have been more comprehensive for a book of this scope. All in all, the book is one of the best on printmaking that has recently been published. From the statements of O’Connor it is not quite clear to whom his book is addressed. Judging from the methods, imagery, materials and tools discussed, it seems intended to give secondary school students and amateurs a basic understanding of relief printing. Although it claims to be, it is not a book for professional artists. It does provide basic information reasonably well and the reader will be stimulated to go more deeply into the possibilities of the medium. I wish O’Connor had included illustrations of more examples of outstanding works to indicate what can be achieved with relief printing even though the reproductions are mediocre. A short bibliography and a list of suppliers of materials in the U S A . and in Great Britain are provided. Apparative Kunst. Herbert W. Franke and Gottfried Jager. (In German.) DuMont Schauberg, Cologne, 1973. 274 pp., illus. DM24. Reviewed by Gerhard Charles Rump** *Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19126, U.S.A. **Hustradtring 139, D463 Bochum-Querenburg, Fed. Rep. Ger. Computer graphics and other ‘mechanical’art has met with widespread hostile criticism, although it is only the logical consequence of a development that started long ago with pyrotechnical effects, artistic fountains, kaleidoscopes and the camera obscura. Some modern techniques differ from those of the past mainly in that they are programmecontrolled and in that they exploit interactive electronic processes. The authors provide a historical survey of the development of art using machines. Extremely useful are the discussions of somerare machines. They also include...