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Premessa
The validity of graphic art is often discussed so I think that a premise is in order.
This is my opinion and the criteria with which I have realized the 257 editions of this site.

Where and when does a work of graphic art become a reproduction?

When the work( the matrices , plate or stone) is not executed by the artist that has signed the printed copies.

When the number of copies is out of proportion to the effort of the artist involved.

A normal number of copies would be 99 copies Arabic, 1 to 99. 40/50 Roman Numerals i.e. I/XL
A Low number of Artists proofs, say 10, numbered 1 to 10. a specified number of printing proofs say another 10 and one “Bon a Tirer”.

Another point to keep in mind is the intrinsic quality of the graphic method involved.
Examples of concave printing on various types of plates,
Copper, Zinc, Iron, Steel, Lead or Stone and a whole range of Plastics.

Etching or intaglio are realized fundamentally with line or point.
Aquatint renders areas, but is done with multiple points and can be mixed with etching.
Xylography or wood cuts is another concave printing process but the ink is printed from the surface.

Molecular reaction printing. Lithography Litho= stone in Greek
The results I like are directly drawn on the stone with a grease pencil or crayon, one plate for each colour. The drawing is then treated with acid which changes the molecular structure of the surface so the ink can be rolled onto the surface and will adhere where the drawing was. In most cases the stone can be substituted with fine grained zinc or aluminium plates.

Serigraphs used often in contemporary art work is perhaps one of the oldest forms of graphic art. Again as in lithography, one plate one colour. The colour is squeezed through a fine mesh onto the desired surface and can obtain a significant impasto.

Fundamentally my idea of these various procedures is that each one has its reason to be as a work of art and can achieve its maximum expressiveness when it is used to optimize its intrinsic quality.
You can’t translate a watercolour to a lithograph or an oil painting to a serigraph.

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