Silkscreen printing is a technique that has been around for a very long time — we’re talking centuries’ worth of growth, development, and adoption of the printing style across several cultures and communities since it first emerged.
Tracing back silkscreen printing’s roots in China during the reign of the Song Dynasty which lasted from 960 AD to 1279 AD, the creative printing style slowly spread across neighboring countries in Asia — eventually making its way to the rest of the world throughout the years until it has evolved to its present form.
Commonly, silkscreen printing is also referred to as serigraph printing or serigraphy which comes from two Greek words, selcos which means silk, and graphos which means writing or to write. To simplify the process, basically, silkscreen printing is when ink is printed on stencils that are held up by a fabric mesh that is then stretched in a frame called a screen.
A squeegee or a blade is used along the screen containing the stencil. The pressure of the instrument then forces the ink onto the substrate or the base material where the chosen design will be placed. Usually, one color is printed at a time according to the discretion of the artist or designer.
As the name implies, the material used for this printing technique is silk. But as the practice evolved, more conventional materials have been used in order to make the silkscreen printing process more efficient such as polyester. While silkscreen printing is popularly associated with clothing, several other base materials are compatible with serigraphy such as decals, clocks, and even balloons to name a few.
In modern times, silkscreen printing was first used for more contemporary purposes in the United States by companies for their marketing and advertising campaigns. American corporations would make use of equipment available at the time to screen print images for their promotional materials such as posters, books, and signages.
While screen printing is viewed as a more cost-efficient process of applying designs for different kinds of purposes, it was the revolutionary American artist Andy Warhol who first popularized silkscreen printing as an art form. One of his most famous works which made use of screen printing is Marilyn Diptych, a painting created in 1962 which depicted the famous celebrity, Marilyn Monroe, in a striking and vibrant use of bold colors.
Eventually, other artists have made a mark in the industry by using silkscreen printing innovatively and creatively such as Sister Mary Corita Kent who created lively-colored prints which bore political statements during the 1960s, and Arthur Okamura whose screen prints contributed significantly to the San Francisco Renaissance, an art movement which began in the 1950s.
Eventually, other artists have made a mark in the industry by using silkscreen printing innovatively and creatively such as Sister Mary Corita Kent who created lively-colored prints which bore political statements during the 1960s, and Arthur Okamura whose screen prints contributed significantly to the San Francisco Renaissance, an art movement which began in the 1950s.
Since the modernization of silkscreen printing, many organizations have been established to support, promote, and appreciate silkscreen prints and screen printing artists all over the world.
One of the most prominent of these organizations is the National Serigraph Society which was founded in 1940 by artists involved in the Federal Art Project of the United States. The organization regularly engages in activities such as releasing newsletters, hosting lectures, and organizing galleries.
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