ONE COLOR AT A TIME BENSON 陳寬樺
Acknowledgements I would like to express special thanks of gratitude to MVC Final Year Course Director, Eleanor—Jayne Browne, who gave me the golden opportunity to do this project on the topic of One Color At A Time, who also always acted as a creative supervisor guiding me. I am also grateful to Prof. Hsieh, who is full of functional ideas and always brings me the innovative methods dealing with functional problems. I am also grateful to the thesis writting leader Prof. Roger Lo, who always patiently gave me the precise suggestions on thesis writting and thinking. I would like to appreciate Karen Lee, who always offered me the diverse reflection on design project. I would also thank Helene who always brught me lots of crazy ideas and having brain storming with me. I also express my gratitude to Matt Wang, who always gave me the best encouragement that i need in the hardest times. I would like to thank Baptiste who mostly gave me interesting and diverse ways of design thinking.
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Abstract Silkscreen printing is among the newest of the graphic arts and has the shortest history. Nothing can be better than the handmade experience of silkscreen. Each piece is not a copy but an original since it is not a reproduction of another work of art and is technically known as an impression. Therefore, in this project, the objective is to create a piece of work, which can deliver the sound, the beauty and the touching experience of silkscreen.
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Contents i
Acknowledgements
ii Abstract iii Contents 01 Section One Introduction Motivation/Aim/Objective 03 Section Two Silkscreen Printing A Historical Overview 05 Section Three The Role Of Silkscreen Printing In Art And Design 3.1. WPA Poster 3.2. Pop Art Movement 09 Section Four The Role Of Silkscreen Printing In Industry 11 Section Five The Handmade Experience 15 Section Six Literature Review 17 Section Seven Visual References 21 Section Eight Methodology 8.1. Collage/Assembly Art 82. Moodboard 8.3. Experience 23 Section Nine Conclusions ix References
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Section One
Introduction/Motivation Aims/ Objectives Each piece is not a copy but an original since it is not a reproduction of another work of art and is technically known as an impression. Silkscreen printing is among the newest of the graphic arts and has the shortest history; however it could be said that whilst this genre is young it has delivered the most visual and commercial impact with the longest lasting impressions. We only have to think of Andy Warhol’s series of Marilyn Monroe and the whole silkscreen aesthetic comes alive. Warhol was by no means the master of crafts, but he commercialized this method successfully. Silkscreen printing really does open my eyes when taking printing course in the second grade. Still can image how the ink be impressed through the screen, and the printing results depend on how much pressure you give. Also the thickness of the photosensitive emulsion will affect the final art works you print in. From the course, I found that a good printing work depends on a good familiarization of the whole process. The spirit of silkscreen comes from the handmade experience, cultivated by keeping practicing and practicing for over ten years. The motivation behind this project is that nothing can be better than the handmade experience of silkscreen. Each piece is not a copy but an original since it is not a reproduction of another work of art and is technically known as an impression. Therefore, the objective in this project is to create a piece of work, which can be magazine, poster, photography or exhibition and so on, using the skills of photography, collage, assembly art, mood-board and multimedia to deliver the sound, the beauty and the touching experience of silkscreen. Also remain the audience that silkscreen still plays an important role nowadays, especially in this digital time.
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In order to glean insight into the world of silkscreen, the following is “The Historical Overview Of Silkscreen Printing”, “The Role Of Silkscreen Printing In Art And Design”, ” The Role Of Silkscreen Printing In Industry”, “The Handmade Experience”, “Literature Review”, “Visual Research”, “Design Methodology”, and “Conclusion.”
courtesy of left. silkscreen printer, picture from pinterest courtesy of top right. Marilyn Monoroe, by Andy Warhol, picture from pinterest courtesy of buttom right. silkscreen printing
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Section Two
Silkscreen Printing/ A Historical Overview In order to glean insight into the world of silkscreen printing, having a historical overview is the best way. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the history of silkscreen printing briefly and to the point. The applications of silkscreen printing developed in China and Japan between A.D 500 and 1000 are the more precisely documented. The Chinese and Japanese found the process well suited for transferring images to fabric, as a means of decorations as well as for making embroidery patterns. The technique probably reached the West through the journey of Marco Polo in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, when so many new ideas and materials were flooding Europe. It was still a relatively crude method at best, suitable only for bold shapes and patterns. One of the drawbacks was that images could be produced only if the cut shapes remained attached to and supported by the stencil matrix itself. The difficulty of introducing floating shapes was apparent a separate piece could not be used without changing its position or lifting off the surface. With the opening of Japan to westerners by the journeys of Commodore Matthew Perry in the mid-1850, it was discovered that Japanese had solved this problem for long since. The Japanese had perfected a method of using fine silk threads and strands of human hair to hold the floating shapes in place, allowing intricate patterns. The applications of silkscreen printing developed in China and Japan between A.D 500 and 1000 are the more precisely documented. The Chinese and Japanese found the process well suited for transferring images to fabric, as a means of decorations as well as for making embroidery patterns.
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courtesy of left. Japanese stencil used to decorate silk. c. 1680-1750, Tokugawa period, picture from [1] courtesy of right. Nancy and Jim Dine. 1970, picture from [1]
The technique probably reached the West through the journey of Marco Polo in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, when so many new ideas and materials were flooding Europe. It was still a relatively crude method at best, suitable only for bold shapes and patterns. One of the drawbacks was that images could be produced only if the cut shapes remained attached to and supported by the stencil matrix itself. The difficulty of introducing floating shapes was apparent a separate piece could not be used without changing its position or lifting off the surface. With the opening of Japan to westerners by the journeys of Commodore Matthew Perry in the mid-1850, it was discovered that Japanese had solved this problem for long since. The Japanese had perfected a method of using fine silk threads and strands of human hair to hold the floating shapes in place, allowing intricate patterns. Silk as a stencil carrier probably was used in France about 1870 for the printing of textiles. England, which had very stringent and well-documented patent laws, recorded the use of a silk stencil in a patent in 1970. Printing through the stencil silk was achieved with a stiff bristle brush. The squeegee later speeded up the process and also produced a more layer of ink. It is notknown for certain when was the squeegee was introduced; however, by the early 20th this tool was in common use, and by the 1920s the first automatic screen-printing machine had been invented.
The applications of the silkscreen technique in the early 20th century were largely commercial. Silkscreen printing proved to be a perfect medium for the bold design and colors. During the height of the Depression, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) silkscreen project was begun under the direction of artist and printmaker Anthony Velonis. By 1935 Velonis and his group were able to bring the silkscreen process to the attention of serious artists for the first time. By the 1960s, silkscreen lent itself naturally to the Pop Art Movement, possibly because of the close relationship to the commercial printing method, and has been grown in popularity till nowadays.[1],[2],[4] After reading the brief history of silkscreen printing, we could deeply and rightly understand such antique technique. And then in the next chapters, I separated three kinds of areas that could help me to grasp the fascinating characteristic that silkscreen printing owned. Extracted fromâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;<Printmaking>
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Section Three
The Role Of Silkscreen Printing In Art And Design/WPA Poster/Pop Art The purpose of this chapter is to research the influence and the contribution that silkscreen printing brought, in the history of art and design. To get into this area, I am going to focus on the “WPA Poster” and “Pop Art Movement.” 3.1. WPA Poster The Work Projects Administration (WPA) Poster Collection consists of 907 posters produced from 1936 to 1943 by various branches of the WPA. The posters were designed to publicize exhibits, community activities, theatrical productions, and health and educational programs in seventeen states and the District of Columbia, with the strongest representation from California, Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Printed mainly on poster board, these works were also produced as one-sheet and multi-sheet designs and were sometimes signed by the artist. At first, posters were created by hand, individually painted and lettered. Later on, the divisions' artists usually used the silkscreen process, which was adapted and refined for the mass production of posters by project artist Anthony Velonis. Anthony Velonis, born in 1911, in New York, began working for the Civilian Work Administration as a poster artist in 1934, where he spearheaded the use of silkscreen to print posters. The stimulating environment of the FAP (Federal Art Project) brought new incentive to him, and he conducted experiments that completed the transformation of silkscreen printing from a commercial process to a fine art medium.
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courtesy of above. WPA Poster, picture from pinterest
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courtesy of left.WPA Poster, picture from pinterest courtesy of right. WAP Poster,picture from pinterest
The silkscreen printing of a poster was a collaborative effort. Artists were responsible for the poster's design, color selection, and sometimes the cutting of the stencils used to print the poster. The exchange of ideas between the designers and the printers resulted in a technically and artistically well-balanced poster. The printing process of the WPA poster left me an attractive impression. I admired the precise graphic design, the strong style of simplicity, and the well combination of the colors, artists, designers or printers chosed and printed. 3.2. Pop Art Movement Silkscreen printing proved ideal for the aesthetic movement of 1960s. Possibly because of the close relationship to commercial printing methods, the medium lent itself naturally to the popular or â&#x20AC;&#x153;Popâ&#x20AC;? art imagery of such artists as Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, Robert Raushenburg, Roy Lichtenstein who transformed immediately recognized symbols of American culture into new artistic statements. Andy Warhol Andy Warhol in particular is the spokesman of silkscreen printing, as his most famous and iconic works are all silkscreen printed works.
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Tom Wesselmann Since the early sixties, Tom Wesselmann has been considered as one of the major artists of the New York Pop Art along with Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. His work started with brash collages, assemblages and modelled on advertising catalogs, usually combined with the exhibitionistic pose of a female body. Robert Rauschenberg Rauschenberg is well known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations. And the Combines are a combination of photography, printmaking, papermaking, and performance. Obviously silkscreen printing for artists is a good choice and a powerful way to present their passion, creativity and love, and also, as a fin art medium, silkscreen printing is worth valuing and spreading all over the world.
courtesy of left. silkscreen print, Robert Rauscbenberg, picture from pinterest courtesy of top right. Andy Warhol printed in the factory, picture from pinterest courtesy of buttom right. silkscreen print, Tom Wesselmann, picture from pinterest
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Section Four
The Role Of Silkscreen Printing In Indusrty The aim of this chapter is to investigate what kind of products can be printed by silkscreen printing, and why silkscreen printing does play an important to human being. In order to find out the answer, I do research from the book â&#x20AC;?Printmakingâ&#x20AC;?, and fortunately get a chance to have an interview with Mr. Houng who is the founder of the corporation of Ming-Hung, a company making silkscreen printing for over twenty years. Since the revitalization of silkscreen by Pop art movements of the early 1960s, the process has continued to gain in popularity. Bright, sharply defined edges and large-scale photographic imagery are more vividly realized in the silkscreen printing process than in the more demanding, more complicated lithographic and intaglio processes. Colors and screens can be changed readily and the printing itself is fast and effortless. One of the most versatile of printmaking techniques, silkscreen is suitable for both sharp, crisp images and fluid, painterly effects. Silkscreen printing proved to be a perfect medium for the bold design and colors.
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From the interview with Mr.Hoing, I find out that silkscreen printing is indeed now widely implied in humanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daily life, in the products such as clothes, t-shirts, packages, boxes, CD covers, books, cylindrical bottles, cans, bus advertisements, bills, circuit boards, even in the chips in the iphone. And still the printing skills from human experience are indispensable in the process of making silkscreen rather then being replaced by the digital techniques.
courtesy of left. silkscreen print, detail of bill courtesy of top right. silkscreen print, chips, picture from google courtesy of buttom right. silkscreen print, circuit board, picture from google
As a conclusion, therefore, I think that I have the mission to supply information to the public, that a large numbers of products we used everyday is almost printed by silkscreen, and the improving quality of silkscreen printing brings us a more better life.
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Section Five
The Handmade Experience The content of this chapter is to discuss the most essential process of silkscreen printing. In order to concentrate on the professional processes, I do research in the book named â&#x20AC;&#x153;Printmakingâ&#x20AC;?, and also compare the interview and observation with Mr. Houng and Mr. Ho, who is the silkscreen-printing master working in Ming-Hung corporation. Ming-Hung is in the Ho-Ku industrial zone. At the first time when I got there, I saw many different kinds of departments, department of frame manufacturing, department of stapling the screen fabric to the frame, department of making exposure, and so on. Several laborers standing on the line focused on their jobs such as operating the huge stapling machine, which stretch the fabric tight, smearing the glue quickly by hand over the fabric on the frame, and screwing up the screen on the frame with screws by hands. Especially one of the printing master, Mr. Ho, taking his apprentice, went on their mission in a separated room, which specializing in coating emulsion on the screen, making exposure with machine of ultraviolet light.
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courtesy of left. coating the emusion courtesy of top right. stapling the fabric to the frame courtesy of buttom right. taping the frame
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courtesy of above. making exposure, picture from pinterest courtesy of buttom right. device for rising, picture from pinterest courtesy of buttom left. printer, picture from pinterest courtesy of far right. squeegee operating, picture from pinterest
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Mr. Hong told me that the technique and knowledge of plate making is the most important part of silkscreen, which means how to estimate the density of the fabric, the time of exposure, which is governed by several factors: the sensitivity of the emulsion, the thickness of the coating on the screen, the strength of the light source, and its distance from the screen. All the decisions are made case by case, depending on the exquisite quality how much the client needed, and all the decisions come from the masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s experience that should develop for over ten thousand hours.
important it is to have a taut screen; two: taping the screen for preventing ink from seeping through the end of the fabric and getting on the margins of the print; three: applying photo emulsions to the screen in a dimly lit space with scoop coater and dried in complete darkness or in a darkroom with a yellow or red safelight only; four: making exposure at the right power of the machine then washout the stencil finally. Everything necessary for the printing operation must be easily accessible and arranged to allow the printing to proceed swiftly and without interruption. Then, the printing technique includes such as, holding the paper to the table, estimate the amount of ink needed lowering the screen into position, the flood stroke, grasping the squeegee firmly with both hands and pulling it across the screen confidently, and, in the end cleaning the screen and removing the emulsion.[3]
Besides the observation and interview, I basically separate the printing processes into three sections based on literatures. The first step is to obtain all the materials and equipments, such us basic frame (it can be made by wood or aluminum), screen fabrics, squeegee, devices for raising screen and the drying facility. Before you actually construct the frame, remain to consider the size of the printing area. As a conclusion, all the documents above are trying to catch the handmade spirit of silkscreen printing. Both The second part of silkscreen includes one: stapling the the knowledge and the force from printer are all fabric to the frame, that the tightness of the fabric on involved in the printing process essentially. I think this the frame is one of the most important factors in good handmade spirit is technical, professional, touching, printing because any slack in the screen will cause and worth spreading. blurred images, and the larger the image, the more
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Section Six
Literature Review
The purpose of this chapter is to review and summarize the documents from chapter two to five to have a conclusion, and to produce some ideas that I can follow up to design. As we can see in the chapter two and four, silkscreen printing as an antique technique developed in China and Japan between A.D 500 and 1000 is still widely implied in several products nowadays, and takes an important role; however, large numbers of people right now just ignore the existence of silkscreen printing. Therefore, in this project as a graphic designer, one of the aims is to deliver the role of silkscreen printing in industry with a beautiful method. I think it could be presented like an “Assemblage Art” with the form of mood-boards. In the other hand, in the chapter five, especially the part of interview with printing master, we learn enough information about the handmade experience of silkscreen printing. I consider that silkscreen printing is a kind of technical art. It should be treasure, love and acquired. Then, what I want to do is to visualize this experience, with interesting, touching and inspiring elements, and I think “Collage” is a nice choice.
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Although we had acquired the enough information about silkscreen printing, it is a little bit serious, and I think with the aims to inspiring audience, I should aid the story elements into the presentation method. It could be like that, the story behind the master, when he was young, and he was inspired by his grandfather to determine to be a silkscreen-printing master, and he abandoned his love and family to learn the printing technique in England…then when he did be a master, he thought… and he devoted to the education of silkscreen printing… Besides, I want to separate the history into five particular periods, like 14th century (the journey of Marco Polo), 1870s (silkscreen in France and England), 1920s (WPA Poster, during Depression), 1960s (Pop Art Movement), nowadays (Mr. Ho, the application all over the world), and aid story into each period.
courtesy of above. frames, ming-hung, silkscreen factory
As a conclusion, I think as well story telling plus with well present method (style), and focus on the core aim, the project could be done inspiringly. Finally, to realize the ideas the project, the following is the “Visual Reference” and “Methodology,” that could help to conduct step by step.
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Section Seven
Visual References
The purpose of this chapter is to share the visual references, which are the possible design methods and introduced with some contexts and pictures. The following are: Documentary Photography, Collage, Assemblage Art, Mood-boards, and Multicolor Screen Printing. Documentary Photography: Documentary photography usually refers to a popular form of photography used to chronicle significant and historical events. It is typically covered in professional photojournalism, or real life reportage, but it may also be an amateur, artistic, or academic pursuit. The photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people. Collage: Collage is a technique where the artwork is made from an assemblage of different layers. Materials used can include newspaper clippings, ribbons, coloured or handmade papers, portions of other artwork or texts, photographs and other found objects— glued to a piece of paper or canvas. The term collage derives from the French verb ‘coller’ meaning ‘to glue’.
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courtesy of above left. collage, picture from pinterest courtesy of above right. collage, picture from pinterest courtesy of buttom left. documentary photography, picture from pinterest courtesy of buttom right. documentary photography, picture from pinterest
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Assemblage Art: Assemblage is an artistic process. In the visual arts, it consists of making three-dimensional or two-dimensional artistic compositions by putting together found objects. Mood-board: A moodboard is a type of 2 or 3D collage that may consist of images, text and samples of objects arranged in a pleasing composition. Designers and Architects use moodboards to develop design concepts and to communicate ideas to other members of a design team and/or client. Multicolor Screen Printing: One colour is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multicoloured image or design.
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courtesy of left. assemblage art, picture from pinterest courtesy of right. assemblage art, picture from pinterest
courtesy of above left. mood-board, picture from pinterest courtesy of above right. mood-board, picture from pinterest courtesy of buttom left. multicolor print, picture from pinterest courtesy of buttom right. multicolor print, picture from pinterest
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Section Eight
Methodology
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the planes and methods of the project. In the beginning, the objective of this project is to create a piece of works, and to hold an exhibition that is talking about the history, the handmade experience, and the application of the silkscreen printing. The following, I will focus on these three areas, and use the methods that were mentioned in the chapter seven, visual reference, to conduct the design. 8.1. The History of Silkscreen Printing In this session, to introduce the history of silkscreen printing, I chose some landmarks, such as 14th century (the journey of Marco Polo), 1870s (silkscreen in France and England), 1920s (WPA Poster, during Depression), 1960s (Pop Art Movement), digital times (The application all over the world), and I will use the design method, collage style, added with assembly art and multicolor screen print, to tell the story, by collecting elements, it could be photographic, illustrated and typographic images about the stories. And then I will transfer the graphic images into several ways, such as parts of magazine, poster, package or images in the exhibition.
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8.2. The Handmade Experience In this session, to deliver the handmade experience of silkscreen printing, firstly, I will get into the silkscreen factory, to have a good observation of each process the printer did, and to record by the way of documentary photography, mentioned in chapter seven. And then, also I will use the design method, collage style, added with assemblage and multicolor screen print, to tell the story, it could be inspired by printing master, by collecting elements, like photographic, illustrated and typographic elements about the story. Also, collecting the real object like squeegee, brush, frame, mask, gloves, working dress and so on to make a mood-broad, could be set in the exhibition.
courtesy of above. ming-hung, silkscreen factory
8.3. The Role Of Silkscreen Printing In Industry In this session, I think showing the real objects, which are printed by silkscreen printing, like clothes, t-shirts, packages, boxes, CD covers, books, cylindrical bottles, cans, bus advertisements, bills, circuit boards, even in the chips in the iphones, can be a good choice, and then assembling them to make a mood-board or assemblage.
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Section Nine
Conclusions
Nothing can replace the “handmade experience” of silkscreen printing; each print is an “original.” In the begining, the motivation behind this project came from the strong love of screen print during taking printing class. Through getting into this attracted areas, firstly finding out the big contribution that silkscreen brought in Art, such as in the series of WPA Posters and Pop Art Movement. Especially acquire the great artist, Anthony Velonis, who spearhead the use of silkscreen to print posters in 1920, in the USA. Latter, via researching the book <Printmaking>, Donald Saff& Deli Sacilotto, Wadsworth, 1978, and communicating with the printing master Mr. Houng, getting more detailing infomation on how silkscreen implied nowadays and still being an important role in human’s daily life. Also, in this prject, the most important thing is to catch the best spirit of screen print by recording the detailing skills in each process and let people know how treasure the print it is. Aim to cultivate this kind of handmade experience in the mind of people. In order to inspire people, to let them also feel the treasure experience of screen print, the result would be like in the following three parts: First, showing the classic printing works of eight famous printers in the history, with high classic black ink printed on black wood. Second, arranging a collection of printing tools which were be mudified into nice and clean apperance. Third, setting a device, which ambience is like a printing studio that people can print by themself.
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courtesy of above right. printer courtesy of above left. adding inl on the frame courtesy of middle left. the collection of squeegees courtesy of buttom. visitor in the exhibition
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References Books: [1] Printmaking, Donald Saff& Deli Sacilotto, Wadsworth, 1978 [2] Printmaking For Beginners, Jane Stobart, A&c Black London, 2005 [3] Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell, Penguin Books, 2008 [4] Production for Graphic Designers 5th edition, Alan Pipes, 2009 Internate: Anthony Velonis, annexgalleries.com WPA Poster, Library of Congres, www.loc.gov/index.html Posters from the WPA, lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/wpaposters/about.html Andy Warhol Museum, The Andy Warhol Museum, www.warhol.org Tom Wesselmann, Christies, www.christies.com Robert Rauschenberg, Christies, www.christies.com Documentary Photography, wiki.com Collage, pinterest.com/thedsignlounge Assemblage Art, wiki.com Mood-board, pinterest.com/thedsignlounge Multicolor Screen Printing, wiki.com
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