By Valerie Menard
Appreciating a work of art is one thing, owning artwork is quite another, or so it would seem.
Popularized in the 1960s by artists like Andy Warhol, silkscreen prints, or serigraphs, made fine art more accessible. In Austin, Coronado Studio and the Serigraph Project, Inc. have produced prints for the past 16 years, bringing Latino art within reach.
“Printmaking has always been considered a blue collar idea because it’s used on common everyday items, from fabric to clock faces. But with Warhol, prints were finally recognized as fine art,” says artist Sam Coronado, owner of Coronado Studio and founder of the Serie Project.
Coronado began conducting printing workshops in 1993 to expose Latino artists to printmaking and to expand their own audience by producing 50 signed and numbered serigraphs to sell. For artists to be successful, their work must be seen and ideally, purchased. “The Serie Project is important because it provides both new and established artists an opportunity to produce screen prints that are exhibited and collected by museums, institutions and individual collectors throughout the United States and abroad. It also allows the Austin community a chance to see prints by artists from all parts of Texas, the U.S. and Latin America,” Coronado explains.
Serigraphy refers to a printing technique that uses a woven mesh, or silkscreen, upon which a stencil is attached. Prints are produced by moving a squeegee or roller across the silkscreen, transferring the image onto another surface, e.g. paper. Unlike modern silkscreen printing done by a machine, each color run in a serigraph is hand pulled, which makes each print an original.
Coronado modeled the project after a similar workshop that he attended in the early 1990’s at Self-Help Graphics, a Latino art center focused on printmaking and based in Los Angeles.
“When I went to Self-Help, I was immediately struck by the artists I met, many were leaders of the Chicano art movement, and also by the environment created by the workshop. It not only brought artists together, but also members of the community,” Coronado remembers. “I decided I’d like to bring that experience back to Texas.”
Cynthia Perez, co-founder of La Peña cultural arts organization, encouraged Coronado to apply for grants from the City of Austin Cultural Funding Program to launch the project, which he did. Coronado Studio began producing the prints and the Serie Project eventually incorporated into a non-profit organization in 1999.
Since the project began, more than 300 artists, mostly Latino, have participated, generating more than 15,000 prints. The artists keep half of the prints to sell and the project keeps the other half with three set aside for archival purposes. Prices for the prints start at $250 and can climb to $650.
Individual collectors include former University of Texas professors Gilberto Cardenas and Ricardo Romo, who own a print from every series. The Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi also owns a complete collection of the prints and Mexic-
Arte Museum in Austin, co-founded by Coronado, maintains the official archives for the project.
Ten to 15 artists, recruited nationwide, participate in each workshop. Interested artists must submit four-to-six digital images of completed work, a sketch of a proposed print, and be selected by a review committee.
“All we require is that artists not be in school and that they commit to a one-week residency at the studio,” adds Coronado.
Ensuring the project’s success, Latino art collectors are always welcome. For more information about Coronado Studio or the Serie Project, go to www.coronadostudio.com or www.serieproject.org.