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Crayon, Ink, and Stone

How do these artists borrow from different artforms?

The printmaking technique called lithography wasn’t invented by a visual artist. It was discovered accidentally by a playwright! The word lithography comes from the Greek words lithos, meaning “stone”, and graphein, meaning “to write.” In the late 1700s, a playwright realized that if he copied his plays onto limestone with a greasy crayon, the words stuck to the stone. He rolled on ink and printed his words again and again. Now, more than 200 years later, lithography is one of the most popular printmaking methods.

The printmaking method lithography wasn’t invented by a visual artist. It was accidentally invented by a playwright! In the late 1700s, a playwright copied his plays onto limestone with a greasy crayon. The words he wrote with crayon stuck to the stone. If he rolled on ink, he could print his words many times. Now, more than 200 years later, lithography is still a popular printmaking technique.


Kenny Scharf (b. 1959), Sloppy Melt, 2018. Lithograph eight colors and glitters “Angel Dust” printed with Marinoni press lithographic and hand cut, 35x25in. (90x64cm). Edition of 90. Courtesy of Kenny Scharf/Artists Rights Society

 

How does pop culture influence Scharf’s work?

Dripping Drama

Kenny Scharf (SHARF) became famous in New York’s street art scene in the 1980s. He was interested in creating art that would appeal to people studying fine art and people inspired by street art. He befriended fellow famed street artists Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat (zhan-MEE-shell BAHS-kee-aht). These art legends hung out with none other than Pop artist Andy Warhol. Like Warhol, Scharf mines pop culture for inspiration. American cartoons are some of his biggest influences.

The Los Angeles-based artist is known as a Pop Surrealist. He explores earth, space, and natural and artificial worlds in his work. In his 2018 Sloppy Melt, above, clown-like faces ooze down the horizontal lithograph. Scharf exaggerates facial expressions, depicting a range of extreme and bizarre emotions. He intentionally printed this work to appear as if the figures are melting. “It has to do just with being fun and also has to do with melting, things are melting, the world is melting,” the artist says.

Kenny Scharf (SHARF) became famous in the 1980s. He was a street artist in New York City. Scharf wanted to create works that would appeal to people who liked fine art and to people who liked street art. He was friends with Pop artist Andy Warhol. Scharf and Warhol were inspired by pop culture. Scharf was especially interested in American cartoons.

Now Scharf is based in Los Angeles, California. His work explores earth, space, and different worlds. In his 2018 lithograph Sloppy Melt, above, clown-like faces ooze down the image. The facial expressions show extreme, strange emotion. Scharf printed this work to look like the figures are melting. “It has to do with being fun and also has to do with melting,” he says. “Things are melting, the world is melting.”

Yoshitomo Nara (b. 1959), Cosmic Girl (Eyes Open, Eyes Shut), 2008. Offset lithograph, 28. 38x20.5in. (72.09x52.07cm) each. Courtesy of Yoshitomo Nara.

Which elements of comic art does Nara work with to make this lithograph?

Sweet or Sinister?

Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (yohshee-toh-moh nah-rah) is known for his artworks featuring images of childlike faces, like in his 2008 Cosmic Girl (Eyes Open, Eyes Shut), above. Japanese manga comics and Pop art influence his work. But his figures are not quite what they seem at first glance.

In this lithograph, he renders a young girl’s youthful, cute features. However, her direct gaze in the image at left and her flat expression in both seem to suggest a dark or perhaps sinister inner life. Nara simplifies his subject’s features like a cartoon character. He uses bold lines and plain backgrounds to focus the viewer’s attention on the subject. He flattens the young girl’s skin, hair, and plain clothing, but embellishes the eyes with twinkles and eyelashes. The eyes’ scale and detail seem to draw the viewer closer.

Yoshitomo Nara (yoh-shee-tohmoh nah-rah) is a Japanese artist. Japanese manga comics and Pop art influence his work. His artworks feature childlike subjects. But they may not be as innocent as they seem to viewers at first sight. In his 2008 Cosmic Girl (Eyes Open, Eyes Shut), above, he shows a young girl with cute features and eerie facial expressions.

Nara simplifies his subject like a cartoon character. He flattens the skin, hair, and clothing. He uses bold lines and plain backgrounds. This focuses the viewer’s attention on the young girl. He adds details to her large eyes, like eyelashes and twinkles. This adds to her sense of mystery.


William Kentridge (b.1955), Untitled (Rhino II), 2007. Lithograph with collage additions, 17 11/16x19 11/16in. (45x50cm). Gift of Joel Ehrenkranz. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, U.S.A. Digital Image 2010, The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/

 

How does Kentridge use juxtaposition?

Power of the Print

Artist William Kentridge was born in South Africa in 1955. He still lives and works there today. The South African artist is interested in artistic methods that build upon a single image. Kentridge uses many types of media in his art, including printmaking and animation. But unlike traditional animation, which is created using many images to show movement, Kentridge animates by filming the changes he makes adding to and taking away from a single drawing.

He created his 2007 Untitled Rhino II, above, using collage and lithography techniques. He arranges paper showing numeral tables in the background. Then he prints a rhinoceros figure directly onto the tables in the foreground. He composes the unmistakable figure using bold lines and marks, juxtaposing the columns of indistinguishable numbers.

What message might Kentridge want to communicate to viewers with this lithograph? Why do you think he chose printmaking as the medium to help him convey his message?

William Kentridge was born in South Africa. The artist still lives there today. Kentridge works with printmaking, collage, and animation. But he doesn’t make traditional animation, which flashes a series of images to show movement. Instead, he animates by filming the changes he makes adding to and taking away from a single drawing.

To make his 2007 Untitled (Rhino II), he arranges paper showing numeral tables in the background. Then he prints a rhinoceros image directly onto the paper. He makes the rhino with thick lines and marks. The rhino image stands out, and the numbers are too small to understand.

What message might Kentridge be sharing in this work? Why do you think he chose to work with lithography and collage?

HOW TO MAKE A LITHOGRAPH

1. Draw an image on a stone or aluminum surface using a greasy crayon.

 

2. Apply a mixture of acid and gum arabic to the surface of the stone.

 

3. Keeping the stone wet, apply oil-based ink. The ink will only stick to the greasy drawing.

 

4. Press paper to the surface, transferring the ink to the paper.

 

 

HOW TO MAKE A LITHOGRAPH

1. Draw an image on a stone or aluminum surface using a greasy crayon.

 

2. Apply a mixture of acid and gum arabic to the surface of the stone.

 

3. Keeping the stone wet, apply oil-based ink. The ink will only stick to the greasy drawing.

 

4. Press paper to the surface, transferring the ink to the paper.

 

 

Continue the Learning Journey

  • Make a comic strip featuring your friends, family, and/or pet(s)!  Draw exaggerated facial expressions to show moods and emotions.

 

  • Collect scraps of newspaper or other paper that shows text. Draw an image on the surface of one or more of the paper scraps to make a collage composition.

 

Continue the Learning Journey

  • Make a comic strip featuring your friends, family, and/or pet(s)!  Draw exaggerated facial expressions to show moods and emotions.

 

  • Collect scraps of newspaper or other paper that shows text. Draw an image on the surface of one or more of the paper scraps to make a collage composition.

 

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