Digital BW, The Print

Amadou and I have talked about this a lot. There are those for whom the image is all, and printing is primarily a way of reproducing that. I can see how a nailed down well color managed setup can pretty much get you right there.
But then there are those who are printmakers, which I aspire to, for whom the object is the thing, the image being an inseparable essential part of it, but not all of it.
With that comes the responsibilities of close investigation of materials, and process, some just have it a some don't or require certain treatment or combination with other materials to come alive. Then additionally you find some combinations, along with some images, have sweet spots, and you find yourself while evaluating tests, instinctually gravitating towards those tones, while other prints, only slightly different, just don't seem to have it.
Impossible to do off the monitor only. The monitor image is not the thing, the print's the thing man.
The other explanation is we're all delusional and stone cold crazy.

But I saw Smith's Minimata Pieta image countless times in books, very famous, famous story. Obvioulsy the content's the thing. But then I saw an original silver in a museum, yes the image's the thing, but presented like that it's literally an overwhelimg experience.
Tyler


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "dlruckus" <dlruckus@...> wrote:
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> another here who agrees. I've often wondered how miracles could be wrought by some I've heard who claim to have so automated their workflow that there is no such thing as a "test" print, just a final print.Even with all of the controls we now have over the process I think the artistic decisions are only met by seeing the print and iteration to the point one is sick of looking at the thing and moves on to the next image ...to rinse and repeat.
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> Duane
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> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "tboleyyh" <tyler@> wrote:
> >
> > but I have to agree with Jon, though many initial large moves may be done on the monitor, the decisions that make for a print with that something extra are done by seeing how things are working out on paper. That hasn't changed... at least when it comes to printing.
> > Tyler
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>