Paul Coldwell in conversation with Frankie Rossi, Director of Marlborough Graphics, London
5/2/09
Frankie Rossi My position is director of Marlborough Graphics, which has been publishing artist’s prints for over 40 years. In the main we publish contemporary British artists and they tend to be the artists the gallery represents so their primary medium is not printmaking, its been painting or sculpture. We have on occasions published work by non-gallery artists but that’s quite rare.
Paul Coldwell When you begin discussing with one of your artist the possibility of making some prints, how does that evolve?
FR It comes about through discussion. If they haven’t made prints before, we might suggest a few ways they might approach it. We might take them to some of the print studios and introduce them to the printers. But with the more experienced artists who have made a lot of prints, for example Paula Rego, she knows exactly what she wants to do and its really her telling us what’s she doing. So it varies from artist to artist.
PC Presumably in some cases you are actively encouraging an artist to make some prints or to try a medium or process that they haven’t tried before?
FR Yes. A good example is John Virtue who I took down to Paupers Press to encourage him to make some etchings or lithographs but he wasn’t interested in doing anything except monotypes which was fine. So I’m guided by what the artist feels comfortable doing, I don’t dictate, I might suggest, but certainly not dictate. It would be totally counterproductive.
PC I wonder if we could lead that into how digital prints fit in with the overall scheme of publishing in your gallery. Has Marlborough published any digital prints?
FR Very little to date. The only artists who have worked in this medium are Therese Oulton, Paul Hodgson and Charlotte Hodes. But the majority of the artists we represent don’t want to use digital.
PC Do you have a view why that is?
FR I think the artist we represent tend to be quite purist in their approach to media. Frank Auerbach for example, likes to make etchings. He tried screen-printing but he was not entirely happy with it, it is in etching he finds he says what he wants to say.
PC This fits in with Marlborough’s reputation as being primarily concerned with painting and the touch of the artist
FR And an attitude towards drawing is very strong connection for our artists, and so when it comes to printmaking, they seem to gravitate towards more traditional medium.
PC Medium where the artist has a direct engagement with surface?
FR Yes..
PC What’s your view about how digital prints are viewed in this country?
FR I think people find it hard to understand. But actually I spend my life trying to explain to people what prints are anyway. There is a deep misconception about what print is and what it can be and digital prints add to this quandary. It makes it even more complicated. I know that at events like art fairs, its clear through talking to people that they often don’t know the difference between a reproduction and an original print. It’s often a mystery to them unless they have actually been to a print studio or seen a demonstration.
PC There is a paradox here in that most people would have had knowledge of digital printing, be it on their home desktop printer, whereas relatively few would have screen-print, lithographic or intaglio presses in their home. So in some way one can understand the mystery or confusion around these older technologies more than around inkjet, which is in every office and home as a matter of course.
FR But I think the issue with digital, for the viewer, becomes a question of `wherein lies the art, where is the artistic input and where is the skill?
PC So are you saying there is this confusion between the direct printout on a desktop printer and the refinement possible through proofing, profiling and resolution possible when developing that image to a resolved and complete print?
FR Yes. There is also a question people have about their longevity; there is a worry about whether they will last.
PC This is a residue of a problem that was resolved ten years ago with the change from dye based to pigment inks.
FR That’s right but I think it takes a while for peoples attitude to change.
PC Do people ask about longevity when they are considering paintings or drawings or other print processes?
FR No the only time I have encountered it was in our current exhibition of works by David Rayson whose drawings are made using felt pens. He uses pens with archival inks, but people still want reassurances.
PC Do you have any observations about how people respond to the surface of digital prints?
FR Well an older generation find it more difficult to distinguish the digital print from a reproduction while the younger audience that have grown up with this technology find it easier to understand. I hope we will gradually have more of our artists working digitally. It’s beginning to happen. Paul Hodgson has approached it in a very experimental way, working at UWE in Bristol, as did Charlotte Hodes. Paul integrated painting into his prints which where photographically based but has now returned to working on painting as opposed to photography but is integrating all three medium, painting, photography and digital.
PC Thank you.
