Question Serigraph vs Seriolithograph

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Dancinbaer

Dancinbaer

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
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Apr 26, 2002
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De Pere, WI
Customer brought in a piece of artwork with a certificate of authenticity. The cert stated the art was "A Seriolithograph on wove paper". Looked like just a poster on heavy stock paper to me. I looked in Kistler's book on mounting to see if it was OK to drymount a "Seriolithograph". All I could find was a "Serigraph" should be mounted with conservation methods only.

Can anyone explain the difference between a Serigraph and a Seriolithograph?

Can a Seriolithograph be drymounted? (Fusion 4000?)
 
A serigraph is a silk screen (I generally don't dry mount those), a seriolithograph is a lithograph using more than one color. If it's artist produced, I would absolutely not dry mount it. It may have been stone produced in which case that's a long, difficult, and cool printmaking process using stones, crayons, water, and oil based inks and probably worth bank, so that would be a big NO on the dry mount question.

(However, if it's offset produced commercially, it's pretty much a poster on heavy stock paper.)

Personally, without knowing if it was one or the other though, I would lean towards the "no" on the dry mount and explain to the customer that any rippling is part of the character of the piece.
 
I have gotten some of these in lately and they all came from cruise ships. I used conservation methods because the customers thought they bought investment pieces. Just wondering if these companies are changing their terminolgy to avoid lawsuits because of all the complaints they are receiving.
 
My understanding of the term "Seriolithograph", having sat in on one of the cruise auctions with Park West Gallery is that it is a combination method of printing.

That is, it is both a Serigraph and a Lithograph. The blocks of color are done with a lithograph technique and the fine details are added by serigraph methods.
 
So it is an enhanced print. Probably would not mount it.

Dave
 
nikfrz said:
I have gotten some of these in lately and they all came from cruise ships. I used conservation methods because the customers thought they bought investment pieces. Just wondering if these companies are changing their terminolgy to avoid lawsuits because of all the complaints they are receiving.
Click to expand...

A cruise ship is exactly where my customer got her's. I guess I'll use conservation methods to be safe.

Thanks all for the information.
 
j Paul said:
My understanding of the term "Seriolithograph", having sat in on one of the cruise auctions with Park West Gallery is that it is a combination method of printing.

That is, it is both a Serigraph and a Lithograph. The blocks of color are done with a lithograph technique and the fine details are added by serigraph methods.
Click to expand...


It looks like that's the way that Park West Gallery describes it. I learned it as a term that simply meant a stone litho using more than one color, so more than one stone. Digging farther, I guess we'd both be "right".

I do think it's a good chance that it's one of those moments where the term is tossed on for marketing appeal, but I'd still treat it as fine art.
 
P.W. uses the term "seriolithograph" for the exact same reason that the term "giclee" was made up. It sounds far more impressive (and saleable) than the alternative...

The P.W. seriolithographs we've come across, time and time, again are simply mass-produced offset reproductions with a single, over-layed commercial screen printed colour on each. They are normally done on a reasonably heavy-weight, textured paper. If you look at the surface of the image on an angle and catch the light, you'll be able to see where the screen-printed colour was applied.

P.W. gives these away gratis for attending their "information seminars" and/or auctions.

My apologies for any residual sarcasm above ... we just re-framed a huge P.W. piece for a customer, and we're still shaking our heads in disbelief.
 
...and the GOOD news is that the framing usually doesn't go with the customer's decor and therefore needs to be replaced!
 
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