ps200119  Upon seeing a big Indian press:  What would E. F. Schumacher say?

 On my Facebook I saw a picture of an etching press – a huge one! I noticed it came from India, in a studio in Chandigarh – perhaps under the direction of Upendar Singh Chahal.

As I looked at it, I couldn’t help but think, “Oh no – this is not right!” Memories of a book came to mind titled, “Small is beautiful” by E. F. Schumacher.

He subtitled it, “Economics as if people mattered.” He meant to comment on the proportional use of technologies, or appropriate technologies. I think his idea was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. I recall the small spinning devices he advocated which flew in the face of British cotton fabric imports which helped India get independence from the empire.

The new press at Lalit Kala Akademi regional Centre Lucknow

The first thing that struck me was the span of the bed – it appears to be a meter wide, and therefore I assume it’s expected to make prints approaching that scale. It follows then there are facilities to make the plates, and these necessarily are to scale.

Then there are the materials and supplies to consider. If metal is used, then perhaps zinc or, less likely, copper. Sheets of plate glass would be cheaper if they are using vitreography. Paper is next – and I believe there are very good paper mills in India. Nevertheless, large sheets of paper are not cheap.

Consider the quantity of ink, solvents, ventilation for safe handling – all this adds up to an expense that seems out of proportion to me. Of course, on the back end of the process are the buyers of the prints (or monotypes) that come out of making art with this big machine.

Who are the buyers? They must be rich! Here’s where E. F. Schumacher comes in. Is this press a technology appropriate to the people? I picture kids – my favorite people – coming to visit the center. They will say “ooh” and “aaahh” at the specter of this process, but they cannot use it. They probably will never use it although a fraction of their numbers may grow up and in two or three decades, they might be able to buy a print.

A smaller fraction yet will grow up to be an artist or a printer using such a press. However, the bad news is that by that time the press will be junk – discarded because it does not fit the economics of the times – say, 2030, a decade from now.

Already, in America, people are unable to support presses of this scale. Only in group workshops can they do so, and in most instances the plates they print on these presses are only small – plate materials being expensive as well as paper, ink, etcetera.

We make a small, portable, beautiful etching press which appeals to grownups and kids alike. It uses paper that’s so small that kids can even make the paper itself!

What we do conforms to E. F. Schumacher’s suggestion – make etching presses that are appropriately scaled to the economics of today and tomorrow.