Contemporary Hand-Made Printing Laurence King Publishing LAURENCE KING Published in 2013 by Laurence King Publishing Ltd 361–363 City Road, London, EC1V 1LR, United Kingdom T +44 (0)20 7841 6900 F + 44 (0)20 7841 6910 [email protected] www.laurenceking.com Text © 2013 Caspar Williamson Caspar Williamson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. This book was produced by Laurence King Publishing Ltd, London All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-1-78067-297-7 Design by StudioAparte, Barcelona Cover design by Pentagram Printed in China Foreword 4 Introduction 5 Chapter 1: Screenprinting 6 A History of Screenprinting 7 The Process in Brief 10 Portfolios 14 Screenprinting in Focus – Chicha Posters (Peru) 62 Chapter 2: Letterpress 66 A History of Letterpress 67 The Process in Brief 70 Portfolios 74 Letterpress in Focus – Lambe-Lambe (Brazil) 124 Chapter 3: Relief Printing 128 A History of Relief Printing 129 The Process in Brief 132 Portfolios 136 Chapter 4: Other Printing Methods 176 Portfolios 177 Other Printing Methods in Focus – Print Gocco & Risography (Japan/Worldwide) 198 Glossary 214 Resources 216 Contacts 218 Index 220 Credits and Acknowledgements 224 Foreword I first connected with the author of Low-Tech Print had to do, producing some torturous office materials. when our paths crossed along the digital byway. It seems Keith and I would collaborate on more interesting Caspar Williamson and I are kindred spirits of sorts. I projects when possible but time had caught up with the had recently finished curating a book on a similar subject, old place. At the turn of the twenty-first century it was titled Push Print, and we both make our living as creative looking like the dire predictions about print’s demise just professionals. The difference is Caspar was born in 1984, might come true. the same year Apple launched the Macintosh, while Well, it turns out Keith was never that into the glossy I began my career well before any digital wizardry was print work after all. All the time the modernization was practised by most designers or art directors. supposedly taking place, he was secretly buying antique I moved from Ohio to New York City in 1984 for my printing gear. He began with what amounted to a working first big city job. Once I arrived, it wasn’t just the bright museum and then made it his hobby, adding pieces to lights that dazzled me: I remember getting the first brief the collection. He even acquired a Heidelberg Windmill and the creative director telling me we could use six- letterpress like the one he had sold years before and colour digital printing. I’d never even heard of such a placed it in the exact spot where the old machine had sat. thing and couldn’t imagine what these magical fifth and Luckily Keith didn’t just acquire, hoist, shine and sixth colours might actually look like! It was production grease his hefty mechanical marvels. He also spent years shock and awe with a slickness and scale befitting the learning the tricks and techniques of the historic trade. products we were pushing. After much counseling I convinced him that maybe it The very same year my brother Keith also set out would be a good idea to share his personal playground on a new adventure. He left his job in a printing firm’s with others who might also benefit from the cool toys. So pre-press department to buy a little print shop that had we agreed that he get rid of anything even remotely new been in small-town Salem, Ohio, since 1938. He longed (except the Mac) and run a dedicated letterpress studio. to run his own place and be on-press instead of stuck There was always something very appealing about in a darkroom all day. It was his dream, but the timing the gritty, raw, tactile graphics of real ink on real paper. was not ideal with desktop publishing taking away more Who wouldn’t love seeing their work in glorious spot and more of the projects that were the lifeblood of local colour? It turns out a lot of people agree and we find printers. ourselves in the middle of a traditional print revival. During visits to my hometown I would always stop This book will introduce you to some of today’s top by the shop to see how things were going. To me it was printmaking practitioners and explore the tools and like stepping into some kind of Terry Gilliam fantasy techniques they use to produce beautiful contemporary land with a smell that was part paint thinner and part work. You’ll get an intimate look at the craft, culture century-old wood. The vintage iron Chandler & Price and inspiring examples of art prints done through a platen letterpress and other strange and dangerous- variety of processes. Nothing fancy, just low tech at its looking contraptions were fascinating. It felt like I’d highest form. discovered an ancient civilization that had been frozen in time by a volcano or other cataclysmic event. Jamie Berger As time went on, things became increasingly difficult Creative Partner, Cranky Pressman for small-town printing shops. The shop did what it Salem, Ohio, USA 4 Introduction Instantly accessible, yet infinitely complex, printmaking During the 12 months involved in the research and is an art form that opens its arms to anyone, yet defies writing of this book, I have continually been blown away limits with the breadth of its capabilities. not only by the beautiful and varied range of material I Low-Tech Print is an exploration of handmade print- have discovered, but also by the inspirational stories of making techniques and the cultures they exist in today. It the people behind the work. From each continent of the is an examination of the evolution of traditional printing Earth, the stories have a common thread; in an over- disciplines, and how this has lead to a huge resurgence in saturated digital age, these most traditional of methods the popularity of printmaking in recent years. Designers have allowed people to reconnect with the physical pro- and creatives of all kinds are rediscovering – and discov- cess of print that they have been pining for. ering for the first time – the artistic opportunities on offer. Many will argue that modern printmaking – with or This book documents printmaking work from all over without the aid of digital processes – is far from ‘low-tech’. the globe that not only showcases eye-catching examples No other art form provides such effective and instant from the craft’s most exciting and influential practition- results, allowing a printmaker to produce entire editions ers, but also delves into the backgrounds and histories in a single afternoon. However, it takes many years of failed of traditional printmaking techniques, and the influences attempts, moments of frustration and countless blistered that have led to new developments in printing methods. fingers to perfect the mediums. Any veteran print techni- Artists, designers and creatives around the world cian will tell you that they still learn new things every day, have adapted traditional printmaking methods to suit and that there is always a way to achieve better printing. their own modern-day purposes. Beside technical im- But it is this that keeps people drawn to printmaking – provements leading to more efficient use of presses and the unpredictable and unique nature of mediums that can materials, the methods and mechanics of printmaking offer infinite surprises. machinery have remained unchanged for generations. With digital print-production techniques dominat- Many of the machines used today outdate one, if not ing the design world, digital technology is now part of the two World Wars – either passed down from friends or DNA of printmaking evolution. The computer has be- relatives, or discovered and restored to their former, fully come simply another tool in the printmaker’s proverbial functioning glory. A new generation of printmakers is tool belt. An example of this can be seen in the world of contributing to the preservation of our printing history. letterpress, which has been transformed dramatically in By continuing to use traditional printing techniques and the past decade by the wider use of computer-generated machinery, they are ensuring that the medium will be graphics and photopolymer plates. Viewed by certain around for the next generation to appreciate. letterpress purists as the downfall of the use of tradition- But what can explain the large increase in awareness ally hand-set type, polymer is welcomed by the ‘new of and demand for printmaking? The internet without wave’ of letterpress studios and enthusiasts – both for doubt is the source of a lot of the answers to this question. speeding up the process and allowing many more people Sites such as Etsy, Folksy and eBay provide a platform to enjoy the medium. for individuals worldwide to sell and promote their work, For me, it is the low-tech and textural nature of print- giving worldwide exposure to the artistic diversity gen- making that has led me to fall in love with these disci- erated by traditional techniques. At the click of a mouse plines. I get an unexplained buzz every time I see that button, anyone can enjoy and educate themselves about someone has made that decision to use a form of print- once niche and specialist craft forms. Self-promotion making in their design, marketing or promotional mate- and learning have never been more accessible, and craft- rial – people standing up and asking for more, not simply centred communities have never been so open and easy to settling for what has become ‘the norm’ of a purely digi- join. Furthermore, relief printing, letterpress and screen- tally printed product. printing, mediums widely used in craft and textiles, have also been embraced by leading graphic designers and Caspar Williamson artists worldwide. London, UK 5 Screen printing The evolution of screenprinting as a discipline is both varied and eclectic. The huge resurgence in the popularity of printmaking and the revival of screenprinting as a medium in recent years has demonstrated that people are eager to express their creativity in new and versatile ways. The tactile nature of the process and its ever-evolving methods have allowed artists, designers – and indeed anyone – to embrace the handmade aesthetic that has become so revered and synonymous with the medium. This has allowed the world of screenprinting to be placed into a revitalized and modern context, responsible for creating some of the most beautiful examples of contemporary art around today. A History of device based on Samuel Simon’s method. By Screenprinting combining several different stencils and using a number of different screens and multiple col- ours, he was able to produce vibrant, multi- SILK SCREENING AND THE coloured imagery in editions. ORIGINS OF THE MEDIUM This period also saw the development of the It was not until the eighteenth century that a pro- ‘squeegee’, a flat, rigid board with a flexible rub- cess was developed in Japan and China that used ber edge that was designed to force printing ink silk held between two pieces of strong, stencil- through the screen. The squeegee allowed for far cut waterproof paper. The paper was glued to- more efficiency and uniformity in printing than gether, leaving the silk exposed to allow the paint was attainable with the stiff brushes previously to flow through. This is believed to be the first used with Samuel Simon’s method. example of a silk screen ever developed. The In the 1930s, the development of flatbed process evolved further during the nineteenth screenprinting in Lyon, France, extended century. However, it remained a simple and screen printing techniques into textile design. In somewhat basic technique. the flatbed process, textile printers applied lac- quer to a mesh to create a stencil. The frame was THE PROCESS AS WE KNOW IT TODAY placed on the fabric and a squeegee was used to Samuel Simon, a sign painter working in the early force a dye paste through the unlacquered areas 1900s in Manchester, England, is widely acknowl- of the mesh. edged as the pioneer of screenprinting as we know it today. Inspired by the need to discover a faster way of producing his signs, Simon realized that if he could develop a method of applying the silk-screen technique to his daily work, he could revolutionize his business. He began perfecting a basic wooden-frame method, developing an emulsion that could be painted onto the silk to block out the images or stencils. Then, using a stiff brush, inks were forced through the screen. This simple process allowed Simon to print signs continuously, rather than hand-painting them individually. This new process was soon being described as ‘silk-screening’, and in 1907 Simon was rewarded a patent for what was to become the first screenprinting process. It would not be long before screenprinting began to attract the attention of the art world. In 1914 San Francisco–based artist and printmaker John Pilsworth recognized the benefits of this process and began experimenting. Pilsworth took out a patent for a multicolour printing Screenprinted silk crêpe dress fabric, designed and made by François Ducharne, Lyon, France, 1937. 7 SERIGRAPHS AND THE EVOLUTION synthetic product also produced infinitely more FROM SILK SCREEN TO SCREENPRINT durable screens. Thus, the screen in a screen- The term ‘serigraph’ was created in the hope printing frame is no longer made from the tradi- that it would distinguish the ‘creative art’ in silk- tional silk or organdie of its origins. Terylene and screening from the commercial or reproductive nylon, as well as polyester, are now widely used. uses of the process. Carl Zigrosser, founding member of the National Serigraphic Society, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INFLUENCE coined the term by combining the Latin word In the 1940s, the Hollywood film industry be- for silk, seri, with the Greek word for ‘to draw’, gan to realize the benefits of this new printing graphein. Today, many artists and galleries still method, and thousands of movie posters were refer to fine-art screenprints as serigraphs – the screenprinted and hung in film theatres across term arguably evoking a sense of ‘high art’. America every week. It wasn’t long before other Today the term ‘silk screen’ is not widely industries took advantage of the process. Sports, used because it no longer describes the disci- music, theatre and travel companies began pline accurately. Post-war developments in new recruiting artists to produce designs that would plastics saw the silk used in parachutes replaced go on to be screenprinted. Poster campaigns like by polyester, which proved to be far more reli- that designed by Otl Aicher for the 1972 Munich able than silk and much cheaper to make, as Olympics became commonplace. Screenprinting well as being much stronger and reusable. This is still as influential in political and social move- ments as it has ever been. Both the music and fashion industries rely heavily on the medium to produce garments, T-shirts, and merchandise. The screenprinted gig poster and art-print scene has never been more prominent on either side of the Atlantic. The DIY methods of screen- printing were embraced in the heyday of punk in the 1970s, and became a driving force behind the movement. PUSHING IT – THE EVOLUTION OF THE DISCIPLINE Andy Warhol is associated with the artistic side of screenprinting and was responsible for popu- larizing the discipline. By introducing serigraphy to the United States during the Pop art movement of the 1960s, Warhol opened the eyes of many of his contemporaries. Artists, particularly in Pop art, found its potentially large scale and solid, bright colours perfect for expressing the ideas of the time. Jackson Pollock and Robert Rauschenberg in the USA, and Eduardo Paolozzi and Joe Tilson in the UK, helped make the tech- Otl Aicher, Munich Olympics poster, c. 1972. Screenprint. 8 Screenprinting—A History of Screenprinting nique familiar. Warhol is particularly identified with his garishly coloured screenprint portraits of cultural icons of the time, including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali. Today, screenprinting has become a so- phisticated process. As industrial applications have grown, better machinery, such as vacuum beds and exposure units, has been developed, enabling more elaborate and expertly printed editions to be made. More importantly, much finer and thinner oil-based inks, along with the introduction of water-based non-toxic inks, have revolutionized the medium, allowing for longer print runs and safer working environments. SCREENPRINTING AND THE ART WORLD TODAY To meet the rise in popularity of screenprint- ing in recent years, many artists’ studios, such as New York’s Lower East Side Printshop and the UK’s Print Club London, are now allow- ing public access to equipment in exchange for a nominal membership fee. Galleries and art fairs worldwide are recognizing the demand for screenprinted work, with new screenprint- specific events appearing every year. Andy Warhol, Muhammad Ali #182, c. 1978. Screenprint. 9