You might think that Damien Hirst’s work would be better kept as the centrepiece of a restaurant or in a museum, but, believe it or not, he has decided instead to turn his artwork into a picture book supposedly for children – and successful print management is helping this project to succeed. Hirst, who is famous for pieces such as a cow in formaldehyde and an infamous dead shark, has collated his best-known works to create ABC, an alphabet book in which each letter is represented by an artwork.
In an interview with the Guardian, Damien Hirst revealed that the book relates to his interest in typography, liking the way that each letter of the alphabet is matched with a picture beginning with the same letter. While this book is bound to cause some controversy among parents, even though it is much more aptly aimed at parents, at PMG we’re more concerned with just how fantastically the images of Hirst’s artwork have been printed in his book…
As all of Hirst’s pieces are 3D, one challenge the photographer and printing company would have faced was to be able to capture the essence of the artworks and translate them onto the 2D page: quite an ask! As well as requiring careful choice of print medium and method in order to convey the gravitas of his art pieces, additional choices – such as any print finishes – can determine the success or failure in representing the colours and impact of pieces on the page so that they do not stray far from the original.
Naturally, whilst such choices are of great importance for an artist, they hold true for every industry and through every print job. It is only through clever print management that high impact printing projects can be achieved. Occasionally, this may mean an interesting dialogue between commissioner, designer and printer to understand the objectives of each and ensure that the final product closely mirrors what was intended at each stage. Luckily, an experienced print management company can help to bridge the gap between each of these different parties, bringing expertise that can’t be beaten!
If you’re keen to turn your artwork into print or have another print project in mind, why not contact us and see how we can help? You can trust us to use our clever print management skills to do a good job!
