Printmaking, the Art of "Between"

Printmaking: The Art of the "In-Between" is a collection of essays on printmaking by Tatsuo Matsuyama. Having been involved in the editing of Hanga Geijutsu (Print Art) since 1986, the author explores the question "What is a print?" through a discussion ranging from modern "Creative Prints" (Sosaku Hanga) to postwar and contemporary prints, as well as Western printmaking.

In this book, Matsuyama defines printmaking as an "indirect expression" in which images are transferred onto paper or other surfaces via a "plate" (han), in contrast to the "direct expression" of painting. He identifies its defining characteristic as the existence of the plate as an intermediary—a middle term—situated between the subject (the artist) and the object (the resulting work), and examines the inherent structures of printmaking, including its reproducibility and multiplicity.

The scope extends from modern prints by Kanae Yamamoto, Koshiro Onchi, Kiyokata Kaburagi, Goyo Hashiguchi, Sumio Kawakami, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, and Kiyoshi Saito to contemporary works by Tetsuro Komai, Jiro Takamatsu, Tetsuya Noda, Shoichi Ida, Lee Ufan, and Isamu Wakabayashi. Addressing techniques from woodcut, copperplate, and lithography to silkscreen, the book also probes the question of whether digital prints can be called "prints," examining the "expansion of the concept of printmaking" that has progressed since the 1970s.

This volume is a compilation of critical and essayistic articles originally published in Hanga Geijutsu, restructured around the themes of "Creative Prints," "Contemporary Prints," and "Western Prints," with revisions and additions. From the perspective of an editor who has closely observed Japanese contemporary printmaking since the 1970s, Matsuyama traces the history and current state of the medium, as well as the shifting nature of its definition.

[Title] Printmaking: The Art of the "In-Between"
[Publisher] Abe Publishing Co., Ltd.
[Publication Date] October 15, 2017 (First edition, first printing)
[Number of Pages] 376 pages
[Size] Approx. 138 x 195 x 2.2 mm / Approx. 437g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] Hanga, Aida no Bijutsu
[Author/Editor] Tatsuo Matsuyama
[Printing/Binding] Abeism Co., Ltd.
[ISBN] 978-4-87242-449-2
[Condition] Used [7] Fair, in good condition
[Accessories] -
[Featured In] -
[Related Exhibition] -

Tatsuo Matsuyama (1952–)

Born in Nagoya in 1952. Graduated from the Department of Aesthetics and Art History, Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University.

Involved in the editing of Hanga Geijutsu since 1986; served as editor-in-chief from 1990. Currently serves as editorial supervisor.

For over 30 years, he has written articles on print history and theory, as well as interviews and profiles of printmakers both in Japan and abroad. In this book, building on that accumulated work, he discusses the characteristics and history of the print medium, focusing on the development from modern "Creative Prints" to "Contemporary Prints."

< Related Figures >

Hanga Geijutsu (Print Art)
Abe Publishing
Sosaku Hanga (Creative Prints)
Kanae Yamamoto
Koshiro Onchi
Kyokichi Tanaka
Sumio Kawakami
Kiyoshi Hasegawa
Kiyoshi Saito
Tetsuya Noda
Lee Ufan
Woodcut
Copperplate engraving
Lithograph
Silkscreen