New T-shirt Printing Wheel

Jose Dominguez surveying Pyramid's newest resident.

Former intern Will Thomas has donated a 4-color t-shirt printing wheel to the screenprinting studio. The "Vidar" tabletop needs some elbow grease and TLC. A quick Google search shows this brand is no longer manufactured, so creativity is key. Any tinkerers  ready to get this gizmo going? We've got lots of t-shirt printers in the Society!

Aesthetic Apparatus at Play

Along the back wall of the Graphic Design: Now in Production show on Governors Island, NY, hangs a cascading array of glorious screened posters from the graphic design duo Aesthetic Apparatus.

Poster detail.

"Often considered Minneapolis' best totally unknown design super team, Aesthetic Apparatus was founded around 1999 in Madison, Wisconsin by Dan Ibarra and Michael Byzewski as a fun side project from their "real" jobs. Over the years their limited edition, screen printed concert posters have secretly snuck into the hearts and minds of a small, rather silent group of socially awkward music and design nerds."

Their genius idea: recycle and print on top of "make readies" (test prints). Not only a nod to green graphic design, their simple concept opens up our sometimes painstaking process to random juxtapositions. Give it a go, and see what happens!

Poster by Aesthetic Apparatus

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Graphic Design— Now in Production

On View: Saturday, May 26, 2012 to Monday, September 3, 2012

Open weekends and holiday Mondays, 10am to 6pm
Building 110, Governors Island, New York.
Free Admission.

The Warholy Grail

A mere 4 hour drive from D.C.,—through the rolling hills of rural Pennsylvania,—lies the payoff in Pittsburgh: The Andy Warhol Museum. Any screenprinter worth their salt understands the contribution of this extraordinary talent to our medium. Imagine my giddy response finding out my niece Claire had a summer internship at the museum. A trip ensued. I had visited previously in 1994, soon after it had opened. There were many new things to take in. Recent unfortunate events have tarnished its "Sandusky" street name. A hands-on room on the ground level has been created to demonstrate Andy's inventive processes. The screen printing station was the popular standout. Four friendly assistants handled the screens, in a constant motion of ink and sink. Another table stocked with coloraid paper and black acetates mimicked Warhol's invention of playing with color before he committed to a large work. He also carved his own rubber-stamps, then hand tinted the impressions with dyes—represented at yet a 3rd table. 

Of course the museum is an immense homage to one of America's greatest artists and conceptual thinkers, housing and exhibiting artworks, films, TV footage, personal possessions and his "time capsules"— over 600 identical cardboard boxes stuffed with items collected by Andy. Claire reports "apparently they've found some crazy stuff in them —$10,000 in cash once, pizza dough from the 80s, a photo of jackie o nude (!)." 

—Marty Ittner

Left to right from top: a pillow tries an escape from the mylar room, the 6 story museum in Pittsburgh's
North Shore neighborhood, a screen printing video in the activity area, playing with color and acetate,
Claire shows off her Warhol badge, the screenprint sink and available designs.

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The Andy Warhol Museum

117 Sandusky Street,

Pittsburgh, PA 15212-5890

Phone: 412.237.8300