The following article was inspired by the exhibition currently on show at the Albertina, entitled “Andy Warhol to Damien Hirst. The Revolution in Printmaking“.
Even if you are not a professional artist, you probably already have at least one screen printing item at home: your favourite T-shirt. Screen printing is everywhere: in art galleries, shopping centres with custom design clothing, and on your walls (if you have high-quality posters).
Printing tools and methods
The name of this printing method comes from the most important object used during the process: a screen, made out of a mesh material, such as silk or nylon, stretched over a frame. The screen is coated with a very thin layer of photo-sensitive emulsion. When it dries, the manual drawing or a print made on a transparency or a stencil is placed against the frame and then exposed to the light. As the black design blocks the light, the emulsion in that part remains soft which makes it possible to wash it out of the screen, while the hardened background becomes resistant to the paint. Finally, a sheet of paper is placed under the screen, and the ink is pushed with the squeegee through those areas that are not blocked. This process can be repeated several times, especially if the design is multicolour.
A brief history of screen printing
Although fine art screen prints were popularised by Andy Warhol, the technique itself has a long history. This printmaking method was already widespread in ancient China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). The technique made its way to Europe in the 17th century and was used for creating designs on textiles. Throughout almost ten centuries the method remained unchanged: the ink was forced through the mesh onto fabric with stiff brushes. We had to wait until the 20th century for the photo-emulsion revolution that simplified the whole process. The advanced modern technology made the production cheap and efficient. During World War I and World War II, screen prints were used for propaganda purposes: governments commissioned artists to mass-produce posters and leaflets. Counterculture and protest movements of the sixties also benefited from this fast printing method : many posters from the Paris May events were screen prints. Meanwhile, the technique gained popularity in advertising through producing labels, logos, posters, and other images on packages.
It was Andy Warhol who dared to treat screen printing as a fine art technique. In his Factory, he used photographs of celebrities (Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley), the portrait of controversial dictator Mao Tse-Tsung or representations of mass-consumption products (Coca-Cola, Campbell’s Soup). Multiplication and bright vivid colours were the two leading formal qualities of his famous colourful printing series, questioning the border between art and manufacture. His monumental works very often contained printing defaults, such as an (un)intentional splash of colour, displaced or blurred contour, perceived by Warhol as the ultimate proof of the manual artistic process. Silk printing became popular among other contemporary artists who felt the need to make a critical commentary on consumer society: that is the case of Damien Hirst’s “The Last Supper” (1999) or Michael Craig Martin’s “Folio” (2004). The artworks mentioned above can be admired in Albertina Modern’s new exhibition “Andy Warhol to Damien Hirst. The Revolution in Printmaking” (until 13 August 2023).
At the crossroads between tradition and modernity
Screen printing is at the crossroads between traditional techniques like woodcut, etching, or linocut and contemporary digital methods, which is clearly visible when visiting the exhibition in Vienna. The high quality colours and accuracy in details are easily achievable, even if printing in big series sizes, like in digital prints. However, the whole process remains manual and “analogue”. This printmaking method leaves much freedom for the artists: it can be mixed with traditional techniques such as linocut or collage (Jim Dine, ”Tool Box” : Untitled, 1966). Moreover, a great variety of modern printing inks enhance different effects such as pearl glowing, matt finishing, transparency, opacity, bleaching, or even three-dimensional texture when using a puff paint (an ink mixed with a heat-activated expanding foaming agent). As recommended by Agnieszka Stanasiuk, artist and founder of the printmaking studio Aga Brwi, to maximise the effects, it is best to work directly on the screen, drawing with black oil pastel or just “painting” using photosensitive emulsion. One should also try printing on various materials such as glass, wood, plastic, and textiles: different weaves and textures will boost the final design.
We can say without a doubt that screen printing has revolutionised the field of printmaking: the process became easy, efficient and democratic. High quality works with good and easily obtainable accuracy to the original design are achievable for everyone, even for beginners, whereas experienced artists will find some place for creative discovery, while experimenting with various inks, papers, textiles and other materials or trying mixed techniques. The revolution does not stop at Andy Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup”.
“Andy Warhol to Damien Hirst. The Revolution in Printmaking“
until 13 August 2023
The ALBERTINA Museum Vienna
Albertinapl. 1, 1010 Wien, Austria
