Art works formerly known as prints

I have removed the g word (giclée) from my vocabulary. Initially it seemed nice to have a word for what I do, but it has come to sound cheap & pretentious.

Print is a great word, fits. Etymology: Middle English prente, from Anglo-French, from preint, prient, past participle of priendre to press, from Latin premere

But there is a problem.

Print is associated with reproductions. My prints are productions. There is no original, other than the file on my disk, not even as visible as a photo’s negative. Once you see it, even online, it is a production!

I still call them prints, and even though they come in editions each one is an original!

(PS my title for this is post is not original, I saw it somewhere before, and it is around all over the net, a cligée)

0 Replies to “Art works formerly known as prints”

  1. I totally agree with what you stated here.
    I stopped using the word giclée a few years ago, I felt digital prints were a medium people were taking for granted and they weren’t special enough… The word sounded clichy if you mind the new word.
    Digital printing is hard, expensive, many proofs to get the color right, there are many possibilities, mediums, printers, papers out there for this field.
    The file has to have a special innate sharpness for it to print successfully, it’s a complex method just like other fine art printing.

  2. Thanks for your comment. Had a look at your blog & I like the Stamp series very much, what got you going with that idea?

    Can I put a picture of one in my Blog post about your work?

    w

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