Woodblock Printing Analysis

In history, when one aspired to recreate artwork, literature, or any form of printed material, hours of manual recopying took place in order to replicate what there once was. This task was laborious, tedious, and time consuming. The final product was often not accurate, expensive, and of little supply. The need for quicker, more accurate, production of printed material led to the invention of Woodblock Printing. This invention forever changed history with its ability to quickly spread culture through printing. Woodblock printing dates back to the 600s, however the age of this invention does not take away from how it influenced art, culture, and technology. Woodblock printing was invented long ago in China by the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty
This new technology led to the artists to begin to mass-produce their works. Before the work could be mass-produced the block of wood had been formed into the image. This was done by “[t]he artist’s design is either drawn directly on the block or on a sheet of paper which was glued to its surface. The cutter uses a knife similar to a penknife and carefully cuts away all the wood away from the sides of the lines which the artist has drawn.” After the wood was brought to the desired image/design the artist would season the wood to ensure that the block would not crack or warp. With this block the artist could then begin to produce prints. Prints could be produced cheaply and efficiently lowering the cost of what art used to cost for an original. The main reason for the reduced cost was the reduced the amount of time spent by the artist to produce the work. The artist could carve one block and transfer that image onto potentially thousands of mediums. With the creation of the concept of prints the middle class could begin to enjoy art a luxury that had been reserved only for the wealthy. With the emergence of a larger demographic of consumers’ artists began to produce more works propelling the industry
After the Dark Ages the desire to learn exploded. People began to explore new ideas. The generation of new ideas and the ability to begin to think freely spread across Europe. Artists also began to explore and express this revolution. With the birth of a wider audience due to prints artist could now begin to explore portraying new ideas that might have not been previously accepted. Art can portray in a culture what has happened in the past, what is going on currently, or possibilities for the future. With the larger platform artists could display new ideas and concepts that shape and mold societies. An idea is one of if not the most powerful force on earth. Ideas have the ability to make people do great things or can drive them to committee acts that are unspeakable. Sometimes these ideas and concepts generate a better society and sometimes for the