APOLLO LITHOGRAPHIC SUITE

Defining Fine Art Lithographs from the Introduction, The Tamarind Book of Lithography: Fine Art & Techniques, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publisher

The inventor of lithography, Aloys Senefelder, called his new process chemical printing. The term did not gain acceptance, but it was more accurate than lithography, the term that did, for, as Senefelder recognized, the principle upon which the process rests is that grease and water will not mix. Lithography (derived from the Greek words for "stone" and "writing") has nevertheless come to be used for all compositions made on this principle, whether printed from stone, zinc, or aluminum.

Lithography is a planographic medium. The stone or plate from which the print is made is completely flat. The artist uses a greasy material to make an image on this surface; the surface is then treated chemically so that only the image will accept the printing ink. Although the solution used for this purpose is called an etch, its effect is not to bite into the stone (as in an etching made on a copper plate), but only to separate chemically the image and nonimage areas.

Offset lithography, although evolving from the same chemical principles as hand lithography, is a separate and distinctly different process. Instead of direct impression of ink upon the paper from the printing surface, ink from an offset plate is transferred to a rubberized printing blanket, from which it is then impressed on the paper. In consequence, offset lithographs have qualities different from those of lithographs printed by direct impression. Offset lithography requires complex automated inking and printing equipment; the printing image is characteristically reproduced photographically, and the chief advantages of the process are for high-volume production in commercial printing. Although it is possible for hand-drawn plates to be printed by the offset technique (a popular practice in Europe for printing large editions), as yet few American artists have been attracted to this mechanical method of printing. In view of the plentiful current literature on offset lithography, no attempt has been made to cover the subject in the present book.

Because artists' lithographs are made by drawing on a stone or plate with lithographic pencils, crayons, and tusche, materials that have much in common with ordinary crayons and inks, most artists can approach the medium with ease. Because of the variety of materials and techniques that may be used by the artist to make an image, lithography is exceedingly versatile. Its autographic nature allows the artist to visualize easily the print that will come from his drawing. Because of its planographic character, lithography is an ideal medium in which to make color prints, for one image can be printed over another without the difficulties created by embossment.

Although the principles of lithography are in essence simple, the technical processes involved in the printing of fine lithographs are exceptionally complex. For this reason, artists wishing to make lithographs have, since the early years of the nineteenth century, worked in collaboration with master lithographic printers: Géricault with Hullmandel and Villain, Redon with Blanchard and Clot, Picasso and Braque with Mourlot and Desjobert.

Any lithograph printed from a stone or plate conceived and executed by the artist is an original lithograph, whether it is printed by the artist himself or by a collaborating printer. Until late in the nineteenth century, lithographs were rarely signed in pencil, and individual impressions were seldom numbered. Since the time, however, it has become customary for artists to sign and number each impression, attesting in this way both to the authenticity of the print and to its quality. Often, prints made in a lithographic workshop also bear the printer's blindstamp or chop. Like the artist's signature, this mark attests to the quality of the work.

Original lithographs are normally printed in limited editions, although the size of the edition may vary over a wide range. In the United States, artists' editions characteristically range from ten to one hundred; in Europe, editions of two hundred or more are not uncommon. The limiting of editions is due not so much to technical considerations as to intention. The artist may wish as a matter of principle to limit editions of his work, or he may wish to avoid an undue commitment of time or money to a single edition.

Any lithograph worth printing is worth printing well, in the finest way, on the finest paper, in accordance with the highest standards of the art. These standards have been established over a period of 170 years by the greatest artists and printers of Europe and America. Certainly, before undertaking to make a lithograph, an artist wishing to explore the medium is well advised to study the great prints of the past and present, not in reproduction but in the original.

By 1960, lithographic workshops had all but disappeared in this country. There were few master printers, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that an artist might engage himself in lithography. As a result, few of the major artists working in the United States made lithographs during the 1940s and 1950s.

In 1960, Tamarind Lithography Workshop was established in Los Angeles under a grant from the Ford Foundation for the primary purpose of providing a new stimulus to the art of the lithograph in the United States. Since 1960, a number of professional lithographic workshops have opened throughout the country, many of them staffed by artisans trained at Tamarind. The lithographic workshops maintained at art schools and university art departments have likewise increased in number and, under the influence of the Tamarind program, have greatly improved in quality. Now, in the United States as well as in Europe, the artist again finds it possible to work in collaboration with skilled printers, and in these circumstances American lithography has enjoyed a notable renascence.

Tamarind's studies of the economic aspects of lithography workshops and of the marketplace have provided a new basis for the survival of the art. The Tamarind Institute, established at the University of New Mexico in 1970, will have as its principal missions the maintenance of Tamarind standards, the training of professional artisans, and continuing research into both the technical and economic aspects of artists' lithography.

Perhaps Tamarind's most important contribution is the undeniable fact that hand lithography in the United States is again a fluid and dynamic medium, subject to continual modification and improvement. The prospects for future creative advancement are unlimited.

LUNAR LANDING

Earth looms in space between the lunar module and the rising sun.

It is true to say that we have learned more about the Moon in the years since 1959 than men had been able to do in the previous two thousand years. No doubt manned bases will be established there well before the end of the century, and will be of tremendous value to humanity. Terrestrial isolation is at an end. Has the Moon lost any of its magic and its romance? Some people claim so; but I cannot agree. Lifeless and desolate though it may be, it retains its fascination. It is more than our faithful companion in space; it is our stepping-stone to other worlds.

PATRICK MOORE Director of the Lunar Section of the British Astronomical Association "The Apollo Story" suite is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and currently on exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian.

RENDEZVOUS

MIRAGES Dr. William Livingston

It's just about dawn as I approach "3-points" on Arizona Route 86 west of Tucson. I'm on my way to Kitt Peak to observe with the solar telescope. The routine of earning a living frequently brings me here at this time of day. Looking to the south, one sees the Altar Valley Mountains loom into view. But how is this possible? These mountains actually lie far below the horizon in old Mexico! Little wonder that the uninitiated watch transfixed as phantom-like mountains separate themselves from the ground, develop plateau formations, sometimes with windows, often with impossibly serrated profiles and occasionally floating upside down. The spectacle changes rapidly... coming and going in a few minutes. On consulting a meteorological textbook, we find the phenomenon we have witnessed is called superior mirages. (Superior, because we must look upward slightly for viewing.) During the night, cold air from the surrounding mountains has settled into Altar Valley, sliding under the warm ground air. This creates an abnormal “temperature inversion layer” with the cold air on the bottom and the warm air on top. Air has weak optical properties which change according to atmospheric density and temperature. At dawn, with near horizontal light rays from below the horizon, objects are turned back downward as though passing through a prism ... which in fact is exactly what is happening... and we are able to see over the horizon. Irregularities in the air layers of the inversion account for irregularities in the transmitted images, serrations, windows, upside-downness, etc.

More commonplace is the highway or inferior mirage. (We look downward slightly to see inferior images.) Here the warm air underlies the cooler air, thus producing opposite effects. While watching an approaching pickup truck, the mirage acts simply as a mirror. The “water” is really reflected skylight. At a certain moment the reflected and miraging images combine to double the apparent height of the truck. More romantically, when the object is a camel it appears to be walking on stilts. (Remember the scene in Lawrence of Arabia?) Clear skies and extensive deserts framed by mountains produce the best mirages. No surprise then, that Arizona is a good hunting ground for mirage enthusiasts.