“Head” Copyright © 1968 Lillian F. Schwartz. All rights reserved.

After conceiving the graphic Head (1968), I sketched it on graph paper. Using the sketch as my model, I redrew the image with alphanumeric characters designating levels of gray. Eventually, the image was output onto black-and-white microfilm. The final image was created with the aid of traditional silkscreen techniques. One screen was for the yellow background; a positive of Head was used for the red foreground. Graph paper is still used where an artist wishes to determine coordinates in advance of typing them in, particularly where the project involves three dimensions. However, an artist can now compose a final color image on the screen and then use a color separation program prior to filming. Each frame then contains only those elements of the image that will be printed or silkscreened in a selected color or black.