Serigraphy

Archive of the Mendocino Heritage Artists

What is a Serigraph?

Dorr Bothwell, in her Mendocino studio, printing the serigraph God Bless You. Photo: Bill Foote (1965).

The term SERIGRAPH (seri – silk, graph – to draw) was coined in the 1930s by Carl Zigrosser (Curator of Prints in the Philadelphia Museum of Fine Arts) in order to distinguish the Fine Art screen print from the commercial products of the silk screen industry.

The first exhibition of serigraphs was shown in New York in 1939. At first Museums and Galleries questioned whether screen printing should be accepted as a bona fide fine art medium. But as more and more serious artists, attracted by the ease of using color, and the versatility of the method, became serigraphers, serigraphs were finally admitted to print exhibitions. By the mid-fifties, serigraphy was finally considered a viable fine art printing method and at long last serigraphs were hung as equals alongside lithographs, etchings and woodblock prints.

– Dorr Bothwell (1985). Written at the request of William Zacha for his book, Tokaido Journey (page 61).

LINKS
Dorr Bothwell: Artwork
William Zacha: Artwork
Zacha’s Tokaido Journey
Mendocino Heritage Artists
Welcome!

THE MENDOCINO ART CENTER

Located on coastal Northern Pomo land, the Mendocino Art Center is a place for artists to retreat, gather, develop our crafts, and practice using our art to serve our communities.

The Mendocino Art Center is entering a new chapter. We have long been a space for artists to build community, share skills, and find a sense of grounding. As we welcome a new Executive Director, many new board members, and some new staff, we seek to bring the MAC into a new era. We will continue to offer our traditional programming—art workshops, affordable artist lodging, events, exhibitions, a shop, and more—but we seek to make our center more accessible to more people, and a regenerative force for our community.

The Mendocino Art Center resides on the unceded territory of the Northern Pomo people. We recognize that the colonization of this land has caused great harm to Pomo people and other Indigenous peoples, and that the Mendocino Art Center has benefited from this harm. We seek to be better guests on this land, and are working to build better relationships with our Indigenous neighbors and Indigenous visitors from beyond this region.

We commit to upholding social and ecological justice in our community; to build more shared community resources; to share skills for climate resilience and community care; and to welcome those who have been historically excluded.

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45200 LITTLE LAKE STREET
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ON NORTHERN POMO LAND

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