DESCRIPTION "Fuck Up" Exhibit Poster CLIENT Self-promotion DATE March 2010 DESIGN CREDITS Michael Nielsen and Eric Nyffeler Includes art from: Delicious Design League, Doe Eyed, Bennett Holzworth, Ron Liberti, Micah Max, Sidekick, Steady Print Shop Co, Dan Stiles, Strawberryluna, The Bubble Process, The Silents Giants, Pat Oakes/Ink Tank Merch, Young Monster, We Buy Your Kids, and Workshop PRINT CREDITS Michael Nielsen and Eric Nyffeler

QUANTITY PRODUCED 87 PRODUCTION COST "A couple hundred bucks" PRODUCTION TIME 2 Weeks DIMENSIONS: WIDTH × HEIGHT × DEPTH 18 in × 24 in PRINT METHOD Silkscreen NUMBER OF COLORS 16 Spot

Earlier this month, the space of Screen Ink in Lincoln, Nebraska was host to a fairly cool exhibition called “Fuck Up,” an ode to the art of the “test print,” which has risen to cult-like status in recent years. The curators Eric Nyffeler and Michael Nielsen, explain:

One of the hidden gems of screen-printing is the beauty of the “test print.” Because screen prints are created one color, one layer at a time, the artists often test each layer before they start the print run. They often use left over prints, pages from old runs, and even misprinted paper. The test prints slowly gather more and more layers of color and artwork from dozens of different jobs. It’s not unusual for a test print to find itself run through the press more than two dozen times. The resulting prints are always unique and are always surprising. Because test prints are a pragmatic by-product of the actual printing process, these pieces of art contain a spontaneous and reckless emotion that is impossible for an artist to plan. Once a print is started no one knows exactly what the end results will look like. The process itself allows for so much randomness that the imperfections are embraced rather than shunned and accidents frequently become the highlight of the piece.

While the exhibit had its share of test prints on display, Eric and Michael decided to do a semi-controlled test print of their own to promote the poster. With the help of some of the featured artists in the exhibit, they put together a 16-layer poster silkscreen poster with random pieces of artwork they submitted — in the order that artists submitted the art was the order Eric and Michael layered the poster.

More than the mind-bending resulting image, I am most intrigued by how much heavier the paper is after undergoing 16 layers of ink.

Layer four.


Layer eleven.


Layer fourteen.


Layer sixteen.