The Bruce Museum Education Department
Presents:
Educator’s Guide
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Love Gallery: September 28, 2013 – January 5, 2014
Lecture Gallery: September 28, 2013 – January 26, 2014
The Bruce Museum Education Department develops Educator Guides to provide detailed information on field
trip planning, alignment with Connecticut and New York State Goals and Learning Standards, as well as
suggested hands-on classroom activities to do before, during, and after your visit to the Museum.
Image Caption: Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 2000, 111-color silkscreen, Private Collection, courtesy of The Heller Group, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints. © Chuck
Close, courtesy Pace Gallery
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Teacher’s Notes
This educator’s guide is separated into the following parts:
 Artist Information
 Exhibition Guide
 Activities and Discussion Questions
 Vocabulary
 Glossary of Printmaking Terms and Techniques
 Teacher and Student Resources
 Curriculum Connections
 How to Schedule a Visit
 Education Department Staff List
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
With a body of work composed almost entirely of portraits, Chuck Close (American, b. 1940) has been astounding us
with his artistic verisimilitude for more than four decades. Each of Close’s prints is an adventure in problem-solving:
working from the particularities of each print medium—woodcut, etching, silkscreen, linocut, aquatint, pulp-paper
multiple—he gives his imagination free rein to reconceive their aesthetic possibilities. Although a spirit of
experimentation characterizes his work across all media, it is particularly evident in the wide-ranging scope of
Close’s printed production. “Any innovation that is evident in my paintings is a direct result of something that
happened in the course of making a print,” the artist himself has said. Organized with the participation of the artist and supplemented with loans from Pace Prints and Bruce Museum
supporters, Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close will present the finest and most intriguing examples of the artist’s graphic oeuvre. Curated by New York University Professor of Modern Art and Bruce Museum Adjunct Curator
Kenneth Silver, the show will be accompanied by a scholarly catalogue and lecture series. The exhibition’s educational programming is underwritten by J.P. Morgan Chase and a Committee of Honor is headed by Meg and
John Hock, Gale and Bob Lawrence, Susan and Bill Mahoney, and Simone and Andrew McEntire. Additional support
has been provided by the Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund.
School programs are inquiry-based and promote critical thinking, written and oral expression. They feature handson-learning activities using objects from the Museum’s collections and exhibitions. Many are interdisciplinary and
address various learning styles.
Before your class participates in this program, spend some time viewing the information on the Museum’s website at www.brucemuseum.org. We also recommend using our artist information and exhibition guide to reinforce the
concepts your students will learn during their visit.
For school program information contact Kathleen D’Aquila at 203-413-6741 or by email at
[email protected]. For reservations contact Julia Harrington at 203-413-6744 or by email at
[email protected].
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Artist Information
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
American artist Chuck Close was born on July 5, 1940 in Monroe,
Washington. Despite learning disabilities (including dyslexia) as a child, Close
nurtured his artistic talents by taking instruction from a professional artist
beginning in 1948. A decade later, he began attending Everett Junior College
with the intention of becoming a commercial artist. In 1960 Close
transferred to the University of Washington, Seattle, and received a
scholarship at Yale University’s Summer School of Music and Art the
following year. In 1962, Close began attending graduate school at Yale where
he received his BFA in 1963 and MFA in 1964, studying the history of
printmaking with Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann and working as a printmaking
assistant to Gabor Peterdi. After receiving a Fulbright grant to study abroad
in Austria in 1964-65, and a brief stint teaching art at the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst, Close returned to New York City in the fall of 1967
to pursue his career while living and working from his SoHo studio.
Throughout his career Close has consistently used the grid as a structural matrix, building images from
repeated incremental units to create a unified whole. Since the mid-1980s, however, his early Photorealist
style has given way to an exuberant mode of gestural abstraction. Process and experimentation are essential
to his method as he imposes limitations on his work and devises problems for which he must seek solutions.
The collaborative nature of printmaking, too, has also been vital to the artist’s creative process: working
together with master printers, he alters one or several variables to create endless variations in a wide range of
media and techniques.
On December 7, 1988, Chuck Close suffered a spinal artery collapse which initially left him paralyzed from the
neck down. After rehabilitation, he began painting by using a brush strapped to his wrist and today he
remains as productive as ever. He is undoubtedly one of the great modern masters of printmaking, always
inventive and methodical in his approach, pushing the boundaries of each medium he undertakes in new and
unexpected ways.
Image Caption: Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 2006, Jacquard tapestry, Private Collection, courtesy of The Heller Group, Photograph courtesy Magnolia
Editions and Pace Gallery. © Chuck Close, courtesy Pace Gallery
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Chuck Close announced his arrival to the art world with his large-scale, black-and-white airbrushed heads,
paintings based on photographs he transferred to canvas using a grid. In 1972 he created the first print of his
professional career, Keith/Mezzotint, the first work to leave the grid exposed and provide a visible record of his
working process. Since that time Close has experimented with a multitude of new techniques, usually
recycling past portraits of himself, his family and friends.
3
Exhibition Guide
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
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What is a portrait? What does it look like and contain? What is its purpose?
o How would you describe Chuck Close’s portraits in comparison to your ideas about portraiture?
o Who would you chose to make a portrait of and why?
The artist’s portraits are always of his friends (many of them artists) and family. The subject’s face fills the entire frame, as Close excludes other parts of the body and eliminates background details.
o What do these portraits tell us about Close’s friends (top row) and family (bottom row)?
o Come up with several adjectives to describe the people illustrated above. Why did you choose
these words?
o How are the images focused? What is highly visible and what is not detailed?
At first glance:
o What materials do you think the artist used (i.e., what is the medium)?
o When do you think it was made?
o What kind of effect does the image have on you (the viewer)?
o What emotion/attitude do you read from the subject’s expression?
 How do you draw such a conclusion? Think about the physical aspects of the subject,
i.e., body language, self-presentation, position, etc.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Portraits
4
Exhibition Guide
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
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Chuck Close has frequently used his own image throughout his career. Look carefully at the selfportraits throughout the gallery and discuss the following:
o How does the artist choose to represent himself?
o Study the artist’s facial expressions. What is he feeling or thinking about? o What can we learn about the artist from his self-portraits?
Do you notice any changes to the prints over time?
o Pay attention to compositional elements, i.e., black-and-white vs. color, frontal view vs. threequarter angle, scale, etc.
Does the artist appear to age over time?
o Choose examples in the gallery that do/do not demonstrate this point.
Does the artist’s appearance change according to the medium in which he is represented?
o Ask students to discuss why/why not, citing specific examples to support their points.
Image Captions/Previous Page (left to right): Chuck Close, Phil I (White), 1982, handmade paper, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace
Prints; Chuck Close, Keith/Four Times, 1975, lithograph, Private Collection, New York, Photograph by Austin Kennedy, courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close,
John, 1998, 126-color silkscreen, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Leslie, 1986, color woodcut on Kozo paper,
Gift of Robert and Anne-Marie Logan; Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Photograph by Ellen Page Wilson, courtesy Pace Gallery;
Chuck Close, Georgia, 1984, handmade paper, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Emma, 2002, 113-color
ukiyo-e woodcut on Shiramine paper, Courtesy of the Artist and Pace Prints, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints. All images © Chuck Close, courtesy Pace
Gallery
Image Captions/Current Page (left to right): Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 1988, spitbite aquatint, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace
Prints; Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 1995, 80-color silkscreen, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, SelfPortrait/Pulp, 2001, stenciled handmade paper in 11 grays, Private Collection, courtesy of The Heller Group, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck
Close, Self-Portrait, 2006, Jacquard tapestry, Private Collection, courtesy of The Heller Group, Photograph courtesy Magnolia Editions and Pace Gallery.
All images © Chuck Close, courtesy Pace Gallery
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Self-Portraits
5
Exhibition Guide
Fingerprints, Scribbles, Dots & Marks
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close

Chuck Close uses various marks in his prints, joining repeated increments together in order to build the
entire image:
o Why do you think he chose to use his own fingerprint as a tool for art making? How would
using your fingertips be more personal than using another artistic tool such as a paintbrush?
o How do you think he used his fingers to create different shades (light and dark) within the
prints?
o
o
Why do you think he used the scribble marks? What do they make you think of?
How are colors built up and layered in these works?
Image Captions (left to right): Chuck Close, Phil/Fingerprint, 1981, lithograph, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck
Close, Leslie/Fingerprint, 1986, direct gravure etching, Courtesy of the Artist and Pace Prints, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close,
Marta/Fingerprint, 1986, direct gravure etching, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Lyle, 2000, 8-color softground etching, Courtesy of the Artist and Pace Prints, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Self-Portrait/Scribble/Etching Portfolio, 2000, softground etching, Private Collection, courtesy of The Heller Group, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints. All images © Chuck Close, courtesy Pace Gallery
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close

6
Fingerprints, Scribbles, Dots & Marks
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
o
How do the dots vary in each of these works? Come up with adjectives to describe them (pay
attention to color, size, texture, spacing, legibility, etc.)
o
o
Try to identify and describe some of the shapes in these works. What do you see?
How do these shapes appear when you look at them from up close versus far away? Do they
have a similar effect from a distance?
Chuck Close uses fingerprints, scribbles, dots, and other kinds of marks to express the image
and personality of his subjects. Do you think that the marks are well suited to their subjects?
Do they contribute to the expression and meaning of the images? Choose examples that
demonstrate these points.
o
Image Captions (left to right): Chuck Close, Lucas/Woodcut, 1993, woodcut with pochoir, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints;
Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 1988, spitbite aquatint, Private Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Self-Portrait/Felt Hand
Stamp, 2012, oil paint on paper, Courtesy of the Artist and Pace Prints, Photograph by Pace Prints; Chuck Close, John, 1998, 126-color silkscreen, Private
Collection, New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Lyle, 2003, 149-color silkscreen, Private Collection, courtesy of The Heller Group,
Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Emma, 2002, 113-color ukiyo-e woodcut on Shiramine paper, Courtesy of the Artist and Pace Prints,
Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Self-Portrait, 2000, 111-color silkscreen, Private Collection, courtesy of The Heller Group, Photograph
courtesy Pace Prints. All images © Chuck Close, courtesy Pace Gallery
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Exhibition Guide
7
Compare & Contrast
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Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
Chuck Close has recycled many of the same subjects (and source images) throughout his career. Why
do you think he reuses faces instead of experimenting with new ones? Why do you think he only
portrays his family and friends?
Identify pairings throughout the exhibition, including these illustrated above:
o Compare and contrast! What are the similarities/differences between the two images?
 Think about scale, texture, shapes, colors, mood and emotion, the work’s date of
completion, medium, and source image.
o Which version do you find to be more effective as a portrait?
How does each medium alter the way we view the person depicted in the portrait?
How does Close use the image’s composition, colors, shapes, lines, patterns, and other formal
elements in similar or different ways?
Image Captions (left to right): Chuck Close, Leslie, 1986, color woodcut on Kozo paper, Gift of Robert and Anne-Marie Logan; Memorial Art Gallery of the
University of Rochester, Photograph by Ellen Page Wilson, courtesy Pace Gallery; Chuck Close, Leslie, 1986, direct gravure etching, Courtesy of the Artist
and Pace Prints, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Alex, 1991, 95-color ukiyo-e woodcut printed from 47 woodblocks, Courtesy of the Artist
and Pace Prints, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Alex/Reduction Block, 1993, silkscreen from reduction linoleum cut, Private Collection,
New York, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Lyle, 2000, 8-color soft-ground etching, Courtesy of the Artist and Pace Prints, Photograph
courtesy Pace Prints; Chuck Close, Lyle, 2003, 149-color silkscreen, Private Collection, courtesy of The Heller Group, Photograph courtesy Pace Prints. All
images © Chuck Close, courtesy Pace Gallery
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Exhibition Guide
8
Activities and Discussion Questions
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close

Draw a self-portrait!
o Think about:
 How would you like to pose? What things would you like to be included in your selfportrait? What medium would you like your self-portrait created in and why? What
will your self-portrait tell viewers about you?

Create your own self-portrait in writing!
o Think about:
 How do you see yourself? What physical features are most important to you and why?
How do you want others to see and understand you? What can you convey in writing
that you cannot in an image?

Make your own print!
o You will need: Styrofoam plates, sharp pencils, paint or ink, paper. Carve a picture onto the
bottom of a plate using a pencil. Paint the surface and immediately press onto the paper.
Remove carefully to avoid smudging. Repeat as desired with different colors, paints, or paper.

Chuck Close uses the grid to transfer and enlarge a composition from a photograph to a painting or
print. Students will replicate this process:
o As a group or individually, divide a photograph (a self- or group portrait, landscape, etc.) into a
grid of 1” squares, reproduce and enlarge the picture squares with a medium of your choice.
o Reunite them like a puzzle to create the original image.
o As a fun experiment, multiple self-portraits can be mixed and combined to make a new face.

With Chuck Close’s method in mind, students will work independently to create their own portrait,
drawing one square at a time without paying attention to the whole image.
o Ask students to reflect on the methodical and time-consuming nature of the process.
o What do they feel is their relationship to the image when working in this manner?

Ask students to develop a system of layering colored patterns in reference to the Chuck Close style of
printmaking:
o Have students divide their colored pencils into four different groups. From there, students will
separate pencils into two light value groups of warm and cool colors, and two dark value
groups of warm and cool colors.
o Make sure students pay attention to light and dark values within each portrait, and the
balance of warm and cool colors.
o Have students apply their color techniques to the grid. Complete this technique until the
portrait is complete.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Activities
9
Discussion Questions

What unusual and inventive printmaking techniques did Chuck Close come up with?

What is realism? Are Chuck Close’s works realistic? Discuss why or why not.

Do you notice any similarities/differences between his early work (near beginning of gallery) and
mature work (end of gallery)? Discuss why or why not.

Divide students into two groups (pro and con) and discuss whether or not a print (a multiple) is as
important as a painting (a unique work). Why or why not? Think about the artist’s collaboration with printmakers. Does it change the idea of the artist as the single creator of a work of art? Is the print
more or less unique as a result?

Divide your class into three groups. Ask students to discuss these various techniques and questions
amongst themselves and have each group report their discussion to the others:
2. Color

How does Close use light and dark colors to construct his images? How does he layer colors
together?

Would the black-and-white works be different if they were in color, and the colored works
different if they were black-and-white? Why or why not?
3. The Grid

Why and how does Chuck Close use the grid to create his portraits? How does the grid affect
your viewing of a Close portrait? Does the grid help you or hinder you from seeing and
interpreting a face?

Where does the grid appear as a strong compositional element? Identify works in the gallery
that do or do not demonstrate this point and discuss.

Chuck Close has compared himself to an architect: “I want to build powerful, aggressive
images. Like massive cathedrals, you’ve got to build them one brick at a time.” Identify works
in the gallery that demonstrate this point and discuss.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
1. Scale

Close’s images are sometimes called “mug shots” rather than “portraits.” Why do you think this is? What does a Close portrait convey about his subject? How much can we tell about the
individual?

Chuck Close’s prints often approach the “scale” of the paintings. “Initially I wanted big, confrontational images,” the artist has said. Why do you think the artist wanted to do this for
his prints? Would the works appear different if they were smaller?

Close’s images are sometimes so large and detailed that they often include unflattering details
of a person’s face. How important are facial features in determining a person’s identity? In today’s world, whose images do we see on this large scale – and where?

Close’s “heads” often make viewers feel uncomfortable. Why might his portraits have this
effect?
10
Vocabulary
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
Vocabulary definitions courtesy of Art Lex, www.artlex.com and Wikipedia; printmaking definitions excerpted
and modified from Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration website
http://chuckclose.coe.uh.edu/process/glossary.html, University of Maine Museum of Art
http://www.umma.umaine.edu/downloads/Printmaking%20Glossary.pdf, and Pace Prints
http://www.paceprints.com/techniques.
Abstract Expressionism: A painting movement in which artists typically applied paint rapidly and with force to
their huge canvases in an effort to show feelings and emotions, painting gesturally, non-geometrically,
sometimes applying paint with large brushes, sometimes dripping or even throwing it onto canvas. Their work
is characterized by a strong dependence on what appears to be accident and chance, but which is actually
highly planned. Abstract Expressionism originated in the 1940s and became fully established in the 1950s.
Airbrush: A small mechanical paint sprayer used to create smooth gradations of tone and color, often used for
commercial arts. The method was later adopted by practitioners of fine arts, especially those affiliated with
Pop Art and Super Realism.
Composition: The plan, placement or arrangement of forms, lines, and colors in an artwork.
Photorealism: Realist paintings and sculptures involving thorough reproduction of detail. In painting the
results were nearly photographic – in fact made from photographs (although painters had been working from
photographs since the early days of photography). In painting, often based on the direct copying of
photographs; in sculpture, involves the use of direct casts from the human figure. Although its center was in
the United States, the Photorealism movement was also strong in Europe from the late 1960s into the 1970s,
where this type of illusionism is known principally as superrealism.
Picture Plane: In perspective, the flat surface used by an artist as the starting point for building a threedimensional illusion on a two-dimensional surface. The picture plane is not the medium itself,
such as the paper or canvas, but an imaginary surface, almost like a sheet of glass or an invisible field, on which
elements such as spatial illusion and forms are created by the artist.
Pointillist: A technique employed by George Seurat, Paul Signac, and other Neo-Impressionists during the
nineteenth century consisting of the placement and organization of small dots of pure color in order to achieve
certain optical effects. Also referred to as divisionism.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Minimalist: A term adopted in the late 1960s to describe art that abandoned expressiveness and illusion and
focused on simple formal elements and geometric structure. The individuality and originality traditionally
associated with creativity is minimized to such an extent that the artist is frequently able to have a work
executed by assistants. The artist’s own role in its creation is that of originator, designer, and technical
supervisor.
11
Pop Art: Art which makes use of the imagery of consumerism and mass culture (e.g., comic strips, pin-ups, and
packaging), with a finely balanced mixture of irony and celebration. Pop Art emerged in the 1950s with various
investigations into the nature of urban popular culture, notably by members of the Independent Group at the
Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Among its leading exponents in Britain were Richard Hamilton,
Allen Jones, and Peter Phillips, and in the United States Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, and Claes
Oldenburg.
Portrait: A work of art that represents a specific person, a group of people, or an animal.
Printmaking: The process in which a work of art, usually on paper, is created from a “plate” that has been transformed to contain areas that will and will not transfer ink to a surface it comes into contact with.
Printmaking methods fall into one of four main categories: relief, intaglio, planographic and stencil processes.
Process Art: An artistic movement as well as a creative sentiment where the end product of art and craft, the
objet d’art, is not the principal focus. The 'process' in process art refers to the process of the formation of art:
the gathering, sorting, collating, associating, patterning, and moreover the initiation of actions and
proceedings. Process art is concerned with the actual doing and how actions can be defined as an actual work
of art; seeing the art as pure human expression. Process art often entails an inherent motivation, rationale,
and intentionality. Therefore, art is viewed as a creative journey or process, rather than as a deliverable or end
product.
Realism: The realistic and natural representation of people, places, and/or things in a work of art.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Self-Portrait: A portrait in which the subject is the artist who created the work.
12
Glossary of Printmaking Terms and Techniques
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
Printmaking Terms:
Artist’s Proof – in printmaking, these impressions are printed especially for the artist and are not included in
the numbering of an edition, but are exactly like the editioned prints in every other respect. The abbreviated
term is AP.
Bon à Tirer Proof (right to print) – the proof approved by the artist which establishes the standard for all of the
other prints in the edition.
Edition – a number of printed images, or impressions, from the same master plate or block using the same ink
colors and printing methods, as established by the artist and/or publisher. The process of numbering
individual impressions from an edition became widespread only in the twentieth century. The impressions in
such a limited edition are usually signed and numbered progressively. For instance, in an edition of fifty
impressions, the numbers would appear as 1/50, 2/50, and so on, until 50/50. After the total is reached, the
plate or stone is destroyed (canceled). Often a few impressions will be printed outside the regular edition for
the collaborators (artist, printer, publisher). Impressions printed during the development process to test the
printing or try out color variations are called “proofs.” Impression – a single printed image (usually on paper) from a printing surface. Multiple impressions may be
printed from the same etching plate, woodblock, lithographic stone, or other surface.
Matrix – a surface, that is, a woodblock, a metal plate, a lithographic stone or a mesh screen for example, on
which the image to be printed is prepared.
Master Printer – a highly skilled printer who works very closely with the artist to produce the edition.
State – any intermediate change made by the artist while creating an image fixed on a plate, stone, or block, as
reflected in impressions or proofs printed during the development process of a printed image. The “final state” is the state from which editions are generally pulled, although some artists pull several impressions in
each state.
Trial Proof – an early proof in printmaking, also called working proof. An impression pulled before the edition
to see what the print looks like at that stage of development, after which the artist may go back to the matrix
and change it. There can be a number of trial proofs, depending upon how that particular artist works, but it is
usually a small number and each one usually differs from the others.
Registration – marks used to line up the images printed by the different plates used in a multicolor print.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Printer’s Proof – a complimentary proof given to the printer. There can be one to several of these proofs,
depending upon the number of printers involved and the generosity of the artist. The abbreviated term is PP.
13
Printmaking Techniques:
Relief – a generic term used to describe the process of printing from a raised surface where the non-image
areas have been cut away. Wood and linoleum are traditional matrices used for relief printing.
Woodcut – a relief process where the image or design is left raised above what is carved out of the
wood. In order to print impressions, ink is rolled onto the surface of the cut block, printing only the
areas left on the surface; the cut-away areas do not print. A printing press may be used, or the
impressions may be printed by hand, using a wooden spoon or other tool.
Woodcut is the earliest and most enduring, in that it is still practiced, of all print techniques.
While woodcuts were first seen in ninth-century China, Western artists have made woodcut prints
since the fourteenth century. The color woodcut was developed to an exceptional level of artistic
achievement in Japan during the 17th and 18th centuries, the ukiyo-e period, using the same techniques
as chiaroscuro but often carried to enormous complexity of multiple blocks and overlapping colors.
Linocut – a relief process in printmaking, like a woodcut, where the artist carves the design out of the
linoleum or linoleum mounted on wood. What remains is printed, rather than what is cut away.
Because linoleum is a softer material than wood, artists generally cut (carved) their own blocks, rather
than relying on the services of a professional cutter. The technique was developed at the beginning of
the twentieth century and popularized by Pablo Picasso.
Intaglio – characterized by an image being cut into the surface of a plate. Traditionally the matrix is copper,
zinc or other metal and the cutting is made with sharp hand tools or by using acid. When ink is applied to the
plate, it is held in the incised image areas and wiped from the surface, then printed on a press on dampened
paper.
Spitbite Aquatint – an intaglio method of painting strong acid directly onto the aquatint ground of an
etching plate. Depending on the amount of time the acid is left on the plate, light to dark tones can be
achieved. To control the acid application, saliva or gum arabic can be used. Traditionally, a clean
brush was coated with saliva, dipped into nitric acid and brushed onto the ground, hence the term
“spitbite.” Etching – in contrast to engraving, in this type of intaglio print the artist uses acid to cut into the plate.
Lines and/or tonal areas of an image have been corroded, or “bitten” into the surface of a metal plate by the action of a corrosive agent, called a mordant. A metal plate is first covered with an acidresistant substance (ground) through which the image is drawn with a needle or other tool, exposing
the bare metal. When immersed in the mordant, only those exposed areas are subject to its action.
The metal plate is therefore “carved” or “etched” by the acid rather than by a tool directly in the
metal.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Aquatint – an intaglio process by which tones may be achieved in an etching; used primarily for the
creation of large areas of tonal shading. Fine particles (such as rosin, lacquer, or asphaltum) are
adhered to a metal plate. During the etching process the acid bites around the resistant particles
creating a fine random pitting in the plate that holds ink, resulting in the printing of near continuous
tones of ink.
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Direct gravure – a type of etching. Using light, an image is applied to a photosensitized surface, but
instead of developing with photographic chemicals, the surface is bit with acid and then printed. It is
called direct gravure because even though a photosensitive surface and light are used to create the
plate, no photography is used to make the image.
Soft-ground etching – in printmaking, an etching technique where a soft ground is laid on the metal
plate. The artist draws onto a piece of paper which is laid down on top of the ground. The ground
adheres to the paper where the pencil or other tool has pressed down into it through the paper and
pulls away when the paper is lifted. The resulting “marked” plate is placed in an acid bath where the
acid “bites” into the more exposed areas where the ground has been “lifted.” Mezzotint – literally “half-tint.” An intaglio process closely related to engraving, but used primarily for the creation of large areas of tonal variation rather than for sharp lines. The entire surface of a plate is
roughened by a spiked tool (“rocker”) so that, if inked, the entire plate would print in solid black. The artist then works from dark to light by scraping (or burnishing) out areas to produce lighter tones. The
more an area is burnished smooth (in order to carry less ink), the brighter the highlight. This process
creates very soft, velvety gradations of tone.
Planographic – printing from a flat surface, using chemicals to adhere ink to areas of the surface.
Lithograph – a planographic printing process based on the principle that oil and water repel each
other. The lithographer creates a design directly on a stone or smooth plate with a greasy material,
such as a crayon, and chemically fixes it to the surface. The stone is dampened with water, which,
repelled by the greasy medium, only settles in the blank spaces where there is no design. Thus the
printing ink adheres only to the areas where the design was drawn.
Stencil – images printed by pushing ink through the cut away areas of a stencil.
Silkscreen – a printing process using stencils to block out areas which are then printed through silk,
other fabric or metal mesh (screen). Each color in the design requires a new screen.
Other
Handmade paper – paper made by hand using a mould (a frame covered with a flat, rigid screen or
flexible screen). In both cases the mould is covered by a flat frame called a deckle, to contain the runoff of wet pulp, dipped into a vat of wet pulp (cellulose plant fiber beaten into a wet mixture used to
form sheets of paper), shaken to distribute the fibers evenly and drained of its excess water. The wet
mat of fibers remaining in the newly formed sheet is then dried against blankets and may be hot
pressed, cold pressed, or air dried.
Tapestry – defined as a thick textile fabric in which colored weft (horizontal) threads are woven into
fixed warp (vertical) threads to form an image. With Jacquard weaving, invented in 1804, the warp
threads are fed from a spool and run horizontally through a machine.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Pochoir – a printing process using stencils, originally used to simulate hand-coloring.
15
Teacher and Student Resources
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
Reference Books:
Chuck Close Editions: A Catalogue Raisonné and Exhibition. Youngstown: The Butler Institute of American Art,
1989.
Close, Chuck, and Kirk Varnedoe. Chuck Close Head On: The Modern Portrait. New York: Museum of Modern
Art, 1991.
Engberg, Siri, Madeleine Grynsztejn, and Douglas R. Nickel. Chuck Close: Self-Portraits, 1967-2005. San
Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2005.
Finch, Christopher. Chuck Close: Life. New York: Prestel, 2010.
__________. Chuck Close: Work. New York: Prestel, 2010.
Friedman, Martin. Close Reading: Chuck Close and the Art of the Self-Portrait. New York: Harry N. Abrams,
2005.
Greenberg, Jan, and Sandra Jordan. Chuck Close Up Close. New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 1998. (Young
Readers)
Guare, John. Chuck Close: Life and Work, 1988-1995. New York: Thames & Hudson in association with Yarrow
Press, 1995.
Kesten, Joanne. The Portraits Speak: Chuck Close In Conversation with 27 of His Subjects. New York: A.R.T.
Press, 1997.
Lyons, Lisa, and Martin L. Friedman. Close Portraits. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 1980.
Monahan, Anne. Chuck Close: Self-Portrait, Scribble, Etching Portfolio 2000. Hamilton: Picker Art Gallery,
Colgate University; Amherst: Mead Art Museum, Amherst College; Waterville: Colby College Museum
of Art, 2007.
Paparoni, Demetrio, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, and Jerry Spagnoli. Chuck Close: Daguerreotypes. Milan:
Alberico Cetti Serbelloni Editore, 2002.
Storr, Robert, Kirk Varnedoe, and Deborah Wye. Chuck Close. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1998.
Sultan, Terrie, and Richard Shiff. Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration. Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 2003.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Lyons, Lisa, and Robert Storr. Chuck Close. New York: Rizzoli, 1987.
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Websites for further information:
Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration
 http://chuckclose.coe.uh.edu/
Chuck Close/Pace Prints
 http://www.paceprints.com/chuckclose
Chuck Close/Wikipedia
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Close
Chuck Close/Museum of Modern Art
 http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=1156
Chuck Close/Image Database
 http://chuckclose.com/#/official-gallery
What Is a Print?
An interactive demonstration of various printmaking methods artists use to transfer their original
composition to another service through the creation of a print is accessible at the following link:
 http://www.moma.org/interactives/projects/2001/whatisaprint/flash.html
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Teaching Geometry through Art
Offers suggestions for teaching students how to learn about geometry through art. Lesson plans, art
activities, and printable hand-outs including grids are available.
 http://mathforum.org/~sarah/shapiro/
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Curriculum Connections
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
Art:
Kindergarten
 Identifies a work of art by media, techniques, and processes (*1a)
 Views prints and original art made from different materials. (e.g. painting, collage, print, sculpture,
photography) (*1a, 5b)
 Verbalizes and differentiates vocabulary related to media, techniques, processes, tools, and
equipment (e.g. paint with a brush and draw with a pencil) (*1a, 1b)
 Describes how an art medium can serve as a source of inspiration (*1b, 1c)
st
1 Grade
 Identifies the elements of art: line, shape, color, in works of art (*2a, 2c, 6b)
 Identifies a personal preference for a specific work of art from works discussed (*5d)
 Discusses why others might prefer different works of art (*5c)
 Believes that attending an art exhibit is an enjoyable way to spend leisure time (e.g. art galleries,
school exhibit, museums) (*6d)
 Recognizes the relationship of objects in a work of art by position and size in a composition (e.g.
big and small) (*2b)
2nd Grade
 Compares works of art created with a variety of media, tools, and materials (*1a, 1b)
 Applies vocabulary related to media, techniques, processes, tools, and equipment (*1c)
 Respects the artistic tastes and preferences of classmates (*5c)
 Appreciates that art reflects different cultures and people (*4b, 5c)
 Discusses how specific elements of art (i.e. line, shape, color) are connected with and applied to
specific organizational principles of art (i.e. pattern, texture, rhythm) (*2a, 2b)
 Students contrast works of art with a variety of line qualities (2.2.1)
 Students discuss how geometric shapes and patterns are used by artists in structuring a
composition (2.2.2)
rd
3 Grade
 Evaluates why an artist would choose a specific art medium for a work of art (*5c)
 Identifies places in the community where the arts can be viewed or performed (e.g. Bruce
Museum of Arts and Sciences) (*6a Aesthetic Appreciation)
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Use of the materials in this Educator’s Guide in combination with a field trip to Closer: The Graphic Art of
Chuck Close will help you link learning experiences to the following Connecticut and New York State
Learning Standards. Teachers will need to identify specific goals to map to individual lesson plans or larger
units of study. This exhibition is suitable for all students regardless of grade level or learning style.
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Curriculum Connections
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
5th Grade
 Describes how different media, techniques, and processes cause different effects (*1b)
 Visits local and regional galleries and museums to observe and discuss original works of art (*2a,
2b)
 Identifies and compares styles of art (*2a, 2b)
6th Grade
 Observes and discusses styles and themes in a variety of works within the period studied (*4c)
 Recognizes and discusses line, shape, color, balance, and space used in different cultures (e.g.
French Impressionism, Japanese printmaking, African artifact) (*2b)
 Students evaluate a piece of artwork to understand a list how factors of context shape a work
(4.6.4)
th
7 Grade
 Discusses the use of color and its impact on a work of art (*3b)
 Identifies style and themes in a variety of works in historical and cultural context (*5d)
 Enjoys examining the visual arts of other cultures as a way to appreciate their artistic
accomplishments (*4a, 6b)
th
8 Grade
 Discusses the purpose and intent of an artist’s work relative to culture, time, and history (*5a)
 Appreciates that art can be an important and useful way to communicate ideas (*1c, 6d)
 Respects and appreciates art created by both peers and people of other eras and cultures (*5c)
 Students discuss and explain who decides if an artistic work is art (5.8.4)
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
4th Grade
 Visits local/regional galleries and museums to observe and discuss original works of art (*2a, 2b)
 Analyzes and decodes selected works of art and artifacts using appropriate art vocabulary (*5b)
 Compares and contrasts reasons for a preference of specific works of art or art styles (*5c, 5d)
 Understands artists by learning about the life and times of several (*4a)
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Curriculum Connections
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
New York State Learning Standards
Standard 1 – Creating, Performing and Participating in the Arts
 Understand and use the elements and principles of art (line, color, texture, shape) in order to
communicate their ideas.
 Reveal through their own artwork understanding of how art mediums and techniques influence
their creative decisions.
Standard 2 – Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources
 Take advantage of community opportunities and cultural institutions to learn from professional
artists, look at original art, and increase their understanding of art.
 Understand the variety of careers related to the visual arts and the skills necessary to pursue
some of them.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Standard 3 – Responding to and Analyzing Works of Art
 Explain their reflections about the meanings, purposes, and sources of works of art, describe their
responses.
 Explain the visual and other sensory qualities found in a wide variety of art works.
 Explain the themes that are found in works of visual art and how the art works are related to
other forms of art.
 Explain how ideas, themes, or concepts in the visuals arts are expressed in other disciplines.
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Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
Adult and school groups of 8 or more require advance reservations and are subject to a special group
fee.
Museum-Based School programs are available Tuesday through Friday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
After-School Museum-Based programs are available Tuesday through Friday, last one hour, and start
no later than 4:00 pm.
The Bruce Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Call Bruce Museum Reservations Manager, Julia Harrington, at (203) 413-6744. You may leave a
voicemail message at this number at any time. Please leave a choice of times to return your call.
Fees
A confirmation/invoice will be e-mailed four weeks prior to the program. Pre-payment is preferred,
however, Museum programs may be paid on day of visit. Payment is by cash or check, payable to
Bruce Museum, Inc.
Museum-Based Programs: $45 per program for each class.
Scholarships
Thanks to the generosity of our corporate members and sponsors, scholarships are available under
special circumstances. Please contact the Museum for more information.
Cancellations
There is a $15 charge if cancellation is less than two weeks in advance of the scheduled program.
No Eating Facilities are available at the Museum
In case of bad weather, classes will be permitted to eat in the Education Workshop if they reserve the
room in advance.
Class Size
In order to maintain quality education, classes are limited to 25 students. Pre-school class size is
limited to 20 students.
Supervision: REQUIRED for all programs
Museum visit: 1 adult for every 5 children, to accompany the children at all times.
Self-guided tours: If you would like your class to tour the rest of the Museum before or after the
scheduled program, you must tell us when you make your reservation to avoid conflict with other
groups.
Nametags: Help to personalize program and enhance student behavior.
Conduct
In order to enhance everyone's enjoyment of the Museum, please go over these rules with your
students in advance:
o Please do not run in the Museum
o Please talk in quiet voices
o Please do not touch paintings or objects
Special requests or curriculum needs
All of the programs are flexible and can be adapted to audiences with special needs or to your
curriculum objectives. Please discuss with the Museum Education staff in advance.
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
How to Schedule a Visit
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Education Department Staff List
Closer: The Graphic
Art of Chuck Close
Robin Garr
Director of Education and Public Programs
(203) 413-6740
[email protected]
Kathleen D’Aquila
Manager of School Programs and Tour Services
(203) 413-6741
[email protected]
Mary Ann Lendenmann
Volunteer Manager/New Media Developer
(203) 413-6746
[email protected]
Peter Linderoth
Manager of Outreach Education and the Seaside Center
(203) 413-6742
[email protected]
Bruce Museum • 1 Museum Drive • Greenwich CT 06830-7157 • P 203.869.0376 • F 203.869.0963 • www.brucemuseum.org
Closer: The Graphic Art of Chuck Close
Julia Harrington
Museum Educator and Reservations Manager
(203) 413-6744
[email protected]
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