Yellows 1969

Editor: This piece is "Yellows" by John Hoyland, currently at the Tate. It's a print of some kind, maybe a silkscreen? I'm struck by the raw edges of the color blocks. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Considering Hoyland’s practice, let's focus on the production. How does the tension between the flatness of the color fields and the gestural application of the inks challenge traditional ideas about printmaking as a mechanical process? Look at the layering of the inks, the textures created. What does that tell you about his process? Editor: It feels less about reproduction and more about a singular, almost painterly act of creation. Curator: Exactly! It elevates the "craft" of printing, blurring the lines between it and painting. It also speaks to the post-war interest in materiality and process, questioning the mass production inherent in printmaking. Editor: I see that now. It's less about the image and more about how it was made. Thanks!