Printmaking in America: Collaborative Prints and Presses, 1960-1990 FROM THE PUBLISHER
The years from 1960 to 1990 witnessed an extraordinary outburst of creative activity among American printmakers. A number of important new workshops were founded, from such influential studios as Universal Limited Art Editions as Long Island and the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles to small presses throughout the country. In contrast to traditional European ateliers, where professional printers reproduced artists' designs for commercial edition printing, the new American workshops stressed collaboration, and emphasized radical experimentation with medium and process. The work produced in these studios often owed as much to the imaginative gifts of the printer as the conception of the artist.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
Curators Hansen, Joann Moser, David Mickenberg, and Barry Walker chronicle the growth of American printmaking from early utilitarian works through the establishment of printmaking as a fine art. The work describes developments in technique but more importantly addresses the complex, cooperative process that was born in innovative printshops such as the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles. Mickenberg's chapter on nonprofit and university-affiliated workshops provides refreshing insight into how the financial support of large foundations helped found the nonprofit printshops. Not only did such workshops pool the talents of printmakers, but they helped create new markets for what had previously been considered a dying art. The authors also attribute the rebirth of printmaking in the United States to several women and minority artists and printers; however, the most recognized prints, created by the likes of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, have not been overlooked. The large, full-color plates have been grouped at the back of the book and therefore can easily be viewed apart from the text. As a complement to the many printmaking technique books available (e.g., The Encyclopedia of Printmaking Techniques, LJ 10/15/93), this work is highly recommended for all fine arts collections.-Julie C. Boehning, "Library Journal"
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