lesson : Printmaking. Listen, Understand and answer !!!
This text was tested in TOEFL reading comprehension on 2004.
Printmaking.
Printmaking is the generic term for a number of processes, of which woodcut and engraving are two prime examples. Prints are made by pressing a sheet of paper (or other material) against an image-bearing surface to which ink has been applied. When the paper is removed, the image adheres to it, but in reverse. Line (5).
The woodcut had been used in China from the fifth century A.D. for applying patterns to textiles. The process was not introduced into Europe until the fourteenth century, first for textile decoration and then for printing on paper. Woodcuts are created by a relief process; first, the artist takes
a block of wood, which has been sawed parallel to the grain, covers it with a white ground, and then draws the image in ink.
(line 10). The background is carved away leaving the design area slightly raised. The woodblock is inked, and the ink adheres to the raised image. It is then transferred to damp paper either by hand or with a printing press. Engraving, which grew out of the goldsmith’s art, originated in Germany and northern Italy in the middle of the fifteenth century. It is an intaglio process (from Italian intagliare, “to carve”). The image is incised into a highly polished metal plate, usually copper, with a cutting instrument, or burin. (line 15).
The artist inks the plate and wipes it clean so that some ink remains in the incised grooves. An impression is made on damp paper in a printing press, with sufficient pressure being applied so that the paper picks up the ink. Both woodcut and engraving have distinctive characteristics. Engraving lends itself to subtle modeling and shading through the use of fine lines.
(line 20). Hatching and cross-hatching determine the degree of light and shade in a print. Woodcuts tend to be more linear, with sharper contrasts between light and dark. Printmaking is well suited to the production of multiple images. A set of multiples is called an edition. Both methods can yield several hundred good-quality prints before the original block or plate begins to show signs of wear. Mass production of prints in the sixteenth century made images available, at a lower cost to a much broader public than before.
Seni grafis adalah istilah umum untuk sejumlah proses, di mana potongan kayu dan ukiran adalah dua contoh utamanya. Cetakan dihasilkan dengan menekan selembar kertas (atau bahan lain) terhadap permukaan bantalan gambar yang telah dilumuri tinta. Saat kertas dikeluarkan, gambar menempel diatasnya, tetapi dalam posis terbalik. Baris (5).
Potongan kayu telah digunakan di Cina sejak abad kelima Masehi untuk menerapkan pola pada tekstil. Prosesnya belum diperkenalkan ke Eropa sampai abad keempat belas, yaitu pertama untuk dekorasi tekstil dan kemudian untuk pencetakan di atas kertas. Potongan kayu dibuat melalui proses relief; pertama, seniman mengambil sebatang kayu, yang telah digergaji sejajar dengan serat, kemudian ditutupi dengan tanah putih, dan kemudian digambar dengan menggunakan tinta.
(baris 10). Latar belakang diukir sedikit timbul menjauh dan meninggalkan area desain. Balok kayu dilumuri tinta, dan tinta menempel pada gambar yang dibuat timbul. Kemudian dipindahkan ke kertas basah dengan tangan atau dengan mesin cetak. Ukiran yang dikenalkan melalui seni tukang emas, berasal dari Jerman dan Italia utara pada pertengahan abad kelima belas. Seni ini adalah proses intaglio (dari bahasa Italia intagliare, yang berarti «mengukir”). Gambar diukir menjadi piringan logam yang sangat halus, biasanya tembaga, dengan alat pemotong, atau burin (jarum lukis). (baris 15).
Seniman itu melumuri piringan dengan tinta dan menyekanya sampai bersih sehingga sebagian tinta tertinggal di tiap lekukan. Kesan dibuat di atas kertas basah dengan mesin cetak, melalui penerapan tekanan yang cukup agar kertas menyedot tinta. Potongan kayu dan ukiran memiliki karakteristik yang berbeda. Ukiran cocok untuk pemodelan baying-bayang dan membuat baying-bayang melalui penggunaan garis-garis halus..
(baris 20). Penetasan dan penetasan silang menentukan tingkat cahaya dan bayangan dalam cetakan. Potongan kayu cenderung lebih linier, dengan kontras yang lebih tajam antara terang dan gelap. Seni grafis sangat cocok untuk menghasilkan pengandaan gambar. Seperangkat pengandaan disebut edisi. Kedua metode dapat menghasilkan beberapa ratus cetakan berkualitas baik sebelum potongan balok atau piringan asli mulai menunjukkan tanda-tanda keausan. Produksi massal cetakan pada abad keenam belas membuat penyediaan gambar, dengan biaya lebih rendah untuk publik yang jangkauaanya jauh lebih luas daripada sebelumnya.
Check your comprehension by answering the TOEFL questions
1. What does the passage mainly discuss?.
(A) The origins of textile decoration.
(B) The characteristics of good-quality prints
(C) Two types of printmaking.
(D) Types of paper used in printmaking.
2. The word “prime” in line 2 is closest in meaning to.
(A) principal.
(B) complex.
(C) general.
(D) recent.
3. The author’s purposes in paragraph 2 is to describe.
(A) the woodcuts found in China in the fifth century.
(B) the use of woodcuts in the textile industry.
(C) the process involved in creating a woodcut.
(D) the introduction of woodcuts to Europe.
4. The word “incised” in line 14 is closest in meaning to.
(A) burned.
(B) cut.
(C) framed.
(D) baked.
5. Which of the following terms is defined in the passage.
(A) “patterns” (line 5).
(B) “grain” (line 8).
(C) “burin” (line 15).
(D) “grooves” (line 16).
6. The word “distinctive” in line 18 is closest in meaning to.
(A) unique.
(B) accurate.
(C) irregular.
(D) similar.
7. According to the passage, all of the following are true about engraving EXCEPT that it.
(A) developed from the art of the Goldsmiths.
(B) requires that the paper be cut with a burin.
(C) originated in the fifteenth century.
(D) involves carving into a metal plate.
8. The word “yield” in line 22 is closest in meaning to.
(A) imitate.
(B) produce.
(C) revise.
(D) contrast.
9. According to the passage, what do woodcut and engraving have in common?.
(A) Their designs are slightly raised.
(B) They achieve contrast through hatching and cross-hatching.
(C) They were first used in Europe.
(D) They allow multiple copies to be produced from one original.
10. According to the author, what made it possible for members of the general public to own prints in the sixteenth century?.
(A) Prints could be made at low cost.
(B) The quality of paper and ink had improved.
(C) Many people became involved
in the printmaking industry.
(D) Decreased demand for prints kept prices affordable.