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Every picture tells a story
Anyone with an interest in how pictures are, and have been, reproduced - in other words most of you - will be fascinated by this book. The author, Richard Benson, is a renowned printmaker and photographer and former Dean of the Yale University School of Art where he has lectured for 30 years, and this book has grown out of lectures he has given during that time. His subject is the myriad ways in which pictures are reproduced, the significance of which he summarises as: "All a letter or number has to do pictorially is to be recognised as itself and not some other character. A representational picture is different: the details of its visual structure dominate the meaning, to the point where any small change in form results in a change of meaning. Any given representational picture might have a broadly recognisable subject, and even an obvious meaning, but the specifics of its form shape that meaning."
Benson organises his subject matter roughly chronologically by class of printing, from woodcuts to on-demand digital printing, via the many photographic processes, and like any good teacher he manages to explain often complex technical matter in plain language. The book is very well written, with a touch of humour: he describes colour management as "the monster in the computer room". Each process is tackled in a one or two-page essay with carefully chosen illustrations, these are in turn captioned informatively and frequently with enlarged details shown and explained. Although the book is organised for easy reference and has a thorough 17-page glossary, it is far too interesting to be left on the shelf, only to be opened when a question beckons. Equally, its structure makes it ideal for dipping into. An early dip is recommended.
The Printed Picture, by Richard Benson, is published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York at £30, ISBN 978-0-87070-721-6, distributed in the UK by Thames & Hudson.
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