REDEFINING TRADITION WITH WOODCUT ART BY DETROIT ARTIST MICHAEL KEUM
Relief printmaking is perhaps one of the oldest printing techniques in the art world, first appearing in China nearly 2,500 years ago. It requires using a knife to painstakingly carve out an image, later to be rolled with ink, then pressed on paper to create prints. As time moved on, the print world heavily evolved and relief printmaking gradually became more of a lost art. When Detroit artist Michael Keum was introduced to these age-old techniques, he became passionately intrigued.
“I was initially drawn in by the whole process of making prints through relief and the attention to detail that the medium seemed to require. It was an instant obsession, I began to stay in the studio day and night for a year strictly working and learning about the process and history. Then I began to consider the historical aspects within my own work. I attempted to create imagery that was original and could speak to the calming sense I would get when working on the pieces themselves.”
MAKING CHANGES
For centuries, the wood blocks were considered to be a means to print on paper. The block itself acted in a similar fashion as the machines that are used today to create large batches of prints. In the hands of Michael Keum the wood blocks themselves become the work of art.
