Page 80 - August Life In Naples Magazine

Giclée
ASK THE

artsperts

www.harmonmeek.com

599 NINTH STREET NORTH SUITE 309 | NAPLES, FL 34102 | 239.261.2637
by Juliana Meek and Kristine Meek

Dear Artsperts:

I recently received an e-mail advertising the sale of an “oil painting print.” They
also had an acrylic painting print. What does that mean? Are the prints they are
selling done in oil and acrylic?
Signed,
Have an Inkling MASTER PRINTMAKER, WILL BARNET REVIEWING HIS WORK

Dear Inkling, ON A LITHOGRAPHY STONE CIRCA 1934.
“Oil painting print” and “acrylic painting print” is a new and very clever
marketing scheme intended to confuse the consumer. It is really a reproduction
of a painting that may have been originally painted in oil, acrylic, watercolor,
tempera, or even collage. Any 2-dimensional work of art can be photographed
or scanned in high-resolution then printed using high definition inkjet printers.
The result of which is a digital print. These printers do not print in oil or acrylic, limit the Giclée prints, but it is entirely based on
but rather use printer ink. But they can be printed on a variety of materials, trust that the image won’t be reproduced beyond the
including canvas. limited edition.
The most often used term for a digital print is giclée. This term was coined Artists may also “enhance” giclée prints by
by a printmaker in the early 1990s and is pronounced “Gee Clay” or “Zee Clay”. directly painting on top of the print, sometimes this
It loosely translates as “to spurt” which is in effect what inkjet printers do – is called hand-embellished. These are sometimes
spurt ink on a surface. An inkjet or digital print does not sound as appealing passed off as originals since the print was altered
as a giclée print. The term was made-up as a marketing ploy to sound vaguely slightly by the artist. Don’t be fooled by these as
French. Oil painting print is just another marketing scheme to make the they are not considered original works of art by fine
product sound better than what it is – a art galleries and museums.
A final aspect of giclée marketing intended to
high quality photocopy of a work art.
A HIGH DEFINITION PRINTER USED IN PRODUCING GICLÉE. making eliminates the added skill and wrapped” or “gallery wrapped” canvas. In reality you
This new era of digital print
make the products sound more appealing is “hand
are getting less of a product. Traditionally works of
craftmanship that was once necessary
in the traditional printmaking process.
art have always been sold framed, unless the artist
intended otherwise. Hand wrapped just means
Traditional prints, be it an etching,
you are buying an unframed work. A step up from
engraving, lithograph, or screenprint
entailed hours in the studio with stone,
reality, you are getting less not more!
screen or metal plates, chemicals and
The over-commercialization of art has resulted
other complex equipment. Master printmakers had years of experience and were purchasing an unstretched, rolled canvas, but in
highly respected for their craftmanship. Giclée is effortless in comparison and in very clever marketing schemes. Unfortunately, it
as such is frowned upon by fine art galleries and museums. muddies the water for fine art and creates a great
Giclée is also extremely difficult to control in terms of the numbers of prints deal of confusion in our profession.
produced. Once an image has been scanned digitally in high-resolution it can
Sincerely,
be reproduced in a variety of sizes and on almost any type of surface imaginable.
In traditional printmaking the prints were limited in number by either the
process itself or on purpose by destroying the matrix used to produce the print. The Artsperts
The size of the print was also limited by the matrix. Today some artists try to

80 Life in Naples | Aug/Sept/Oct 2018