Etching Process, Monotyping and Monoprinting - Essay Example

The deformations accumulate over time and may completely destroy a work if the plates are not pretreated with a technique like electro-plating. Lithographic images, unlike etching processes, may utilize stone plates in addition to those made of metal as long as the surface is initially smooth. These characteristics are due to the process of adding to the base material, rather than removing it as occurs in etchings. Lithographic presses work by evenly pressing ink against a roughened base surface on which an image has been crafted using polymers. The desire to unite these tools has fueled research in a range of fields, including physics (Adalsteinsson & Sethian, 1997).

Monotyping and monoprinting are very similar processes, as both are defined by the creation of a sole image source that can only be used to print a limited number of unique images. The main difference between the techniques is that monoprints can be reused, while images on monotyping source materials are impermanent and deteriorate after a couple of uses at most. Monoprinting can be used to produce many images, but the guide is altered with every pressing, guaranteeing the inability to massively duplicate an identical image from a single monoprint plate.

The concepts of scale and proportion are easily confused because they both relate to size (Mag Uidher, 2012), but the differences are clear enough to warrant more attention than they have typically been afforded. The scale describes the size of an object as it compares to a separate item of reference. The human body is a common frame of reference for size, but the possibilities for comparison are virtually endless. In contrast, the proportion is the relative size of the parts of an image as they compare to the whole. For example, the size of an eye can appear differently based on the size of the entire face. This form of reference is different than scale judgments because it does not depend on the use of an independent image.

In visual art, representation refers to the role of direct symbolic interpretations in conveying meanings (Gombrich, 1977). The way art is represented can be influenced by the choice of medium, the context surrounding interpretation, and the item that is being represented. Unlike representation, abstraction involves the use of symbology that is not directly associated with a real-world example. However, abstract visual art is often created using an unconventional transformation process that originates with directly available visual observations. Non-objective art takes the abstraction process even further by creating visuals that are in no way based on observable reality. Such creations are purely aesthetic in nature, using artistic principles rather than direct or indirect visual references.