The workshops involved in the development of printmaking in USA and abstract expressionism

In this study, the causes of the development in printmaking and how the causes relate to Abstract Expressionism were examined through examples. Besides, the present study deals with the changes in printmaking during its development in 1960s. In 1960s, a great success in printmaking was seen in the U.S. During this period, which is called as a renaissance of printmaking, the interests of abstract expressionist artists on printmaking and the increase in artistic production in printmaking also increased the interests of galleries and museums on printmaking. As a result of these institutions' giving importance on printmaking, printmaking was started to be followed by greater masses of people. That leading artists of Abstract Expressionism, as a highly significant trend that shaped the second half of the 20th century, created their work by means of printmaking and that they thought that printmaking was an important language for expressing themselves resulted in a significant momentum in printmaking. Behind the cause of the success of printmaking lies the developmental period in the U. S., started before the Second World War and continued until 1960s. This developmental period, which is the topic of the present thesis, was examined in three chapters. In the first chapter of the current study, the status of 19th century American art that illustrated the rural world was investigated. In addition, the proposed study focused on the causes of changes in American art that met what is modern with the start of World War II, and aimed at revealing the relationship between these causes and printmaking. In the second chapter, the immigrant artist in the U.S. after the war, their work and the relationship between artistic activities at Atelier 17 and printmaking were studied. The second chapter also deals with how these aspects impact the emergence of Abstract Expressionism. The last chapter describes the emergence of workshops, which are considered as the most significant reason behind the success of printmaking, the structure of the workshops, work conditions at the workshops, and their relations with artists. In the last chapter, it was aimed at illustrating the artistic potential in printmaking, which changes and continues to gain a new identity, through the work created at the workshops. Without doubt, the printmaking culture, aimed to be described in this study, is regarded as an influential factor on the emergence of a new perspective and form for art not only in the U.S. but also in the whole Europe. Key Words: Printmaking, United States of America, Abstract Expressionism, Federal Art Project, Atelier 17, Pratt, Tamarind, ULAE, Hollander, Gemini G.E.L., Printmaking in 60's, Renaissance of printmaking