‘Embrace the imperfection’: Fredericton artists shun AI in favour of linocut

In a world where technology is increasingly influencing the art space, one collective in Fredericton has committed itself to a more tactile form of art.

The Linocult is a group of several Fredericton-based artists who work in the medium of linocut, where the relief of a work of art is cut into a piece of linoleum, inked and transferred to a surface like paper or cloth.

The group opened its first exhibit, Black & Red, at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre. It will be on display until March 2.

Andrew Robinson, one of the artists behind the collective who works as a graphic designer, said it’s the permanence of the art that attracted him to the medium.

“Honestly, the lack of an undo key is really appealing to me,” said Robinson.

“You have to really think about what you’re doing. You have to think about every line, every cut. It also forces you to embrace the imperfection as well.”

Robinson first explored linocut while living in a small apartment in Toronto.

“I didn’t have either the space or the money to get into screen printing like I wanted to,” said Robinson.

“Lino printing seemed like a good option to be able to produce my own work in the small apartment and the small budget that I had at the time.”

WATCH | Members of the Linocult explain their art, worldview:

Embracing imperfection with the Linocult

Fredericton linocut collective creates ‘extremely physical’ art in an increasingly digital age.

Linocut is similar to woodblock printing except it uses linoleum, which is made of ground cork and linseed oil on a burlap backing.

That means that, unlike wood, there is no grain, which makes it easier to work with, something artist Anne Stillwell learned first hand.

“I learned about it in Grade 10 … and ended up cutting my thumb really bad because I was using a wood block because you can’t go against the grain with that,” said Stillwell.

“So for me, it started off on a bad note and I abandoned it completely for a couple of years.”

When Stillwell started using linoleum to make prints, she found it “absolutely addicting.”

Red & Black

The theme of the exhibit is Red & Black, which means all the art is in red and black, a bit of a departure for most linocut artists who tend to use just one colour of ink.

Robinson has two works on display, “Death Breath,” which features a screaming skull, and “Raptor Red,” a dinosaur on a red background.

“They don’t really have a deep meaning behind both of them or either of them. I just like both skulls and dinosaurs,” said Robinson.

Stillwell’s art takes an even more radical departure from traditional printmaking by adding 3D elements.

One of her pieces, “Passing Poppies,” has printed flowers literally popping off the canvas, and another one of her works is a garland made of misprints hanging from the ceiling of the Charlotte Street Arts Centre.

For “Passing Poppies,” the art came from frustration with the medium of printing in two colours.

“I couldn’t get them to line up. So for me, you know, my first initial reaction was I’m not doing this. I’m going to abandon it,” said Stillwell.

“But I decided to push through and figure out a solution … and I’m actually really happy with the end result. It wasn’t what I originally intended, but I think it turned out awesome.”

In the face of AI

The collective said its goal is “creating handmade art in an increasingly AI-cheapened and digitally-derived world.”

Unlike images made with AI, Robinson said the act of printmaking is “extremely physical” and its this physicality he finds “extremely fulfilling.”

“You’re feeling the resistance of the block as you carve it. You’re hearing the hiss of the ink as you roll it out. You’re smelling the ink, you’re smelling the lino. You’re feeling the paper as you push it onto the block,” said Robinson.

While Stillwell said she is concerned about what AI may do to the art space and how her art may be used without her permission in generative AI, she thinks real artists aren’t going anywhere.

“You’re not gonna get the same experience and the same connection you’ll get from AI art versus coming to a gallery and looking at the piece and feeling a connection to it and understanding the craftsmanship that goes into it,” she said.

“It’s just not even comparable. It’s on a totally different level.”