Artist’s Proof: an introduction to screen printing

This undergraduate course will introduce students to the hands-on techniques, historical precedence, and politics of screen print editions. Students will generate a body of work which will be informed by a range of approaches to this practice, which have been developed by key artists, art movements and groups who have sought alternative mechanisms to distribute their work and/or make their work available to a wide set of audiences or disrupt perceived values around notions of originality. In this course students will be instructed on how to make silkscreen prints on paper and fabric for creative and studio purposes. As part of this process they will be introduced to the studio practices associated with safe chemical handling and screen preparation, inking and printing processes, as well as colour registration and clean-up processes. They will develop an awareness of how to construct images from inception to final resolution, which is visually impactful and knowing of the discipline that they are operating within. They will also learn about the important historical and contemporary material/figures that has shaped this discipline and continues to make it relevant as a tool for visual and political discourse in art and the public domain.