DGA Faces #05 Stefanie Neumann

Stefanie Neumann will be giving workshops on experimental printmaking soon.

What fascinates you most about printing?

For me, artistic creation is a form of happiness. I experience this over and over again when I print. It can be a meditative and at the same time exciting experience. Each print is unique and the result of an often long and painstaking process. It requires patience, skill and a feel for the material. The surprise and amazement when you see the finished print for the first time are moments that never fail to inspire me.

Where do you get your inspiration for motifs from? Can you recommend sources?

I look for objects and papers to include in my prints: old letters, school maps, Asian and Indian papers. These materials are sorted by colour and theme in an old sewing cupboard. There are compartments for cards, metallic surfaces and packaging material …

Writing is a central element of my work. Books are one of my first sources of inspiration. The combination of type and image gets to the heart of situations: Bread—like at home, Requiem for lentil curry, You are allowed to wear my socks, Firmament sky. Each sentence tells a whole story.

I collect work titles or quotes from song lyrics and books for future works in a book, sorted alphabetically. I add these quotes as a further narrative layer when working on a graphic.

In this way, the graphics are created in several layers.

Which artists do you find particularly interesting?

I love the graphic works of Joan Hernandez Pijuan. He has a very picturesque and unusual approach to printmaking. Often the graphic is the start for the painting. The painting influences the graphics. He really is a painting graphic artist. Wonderful work !!!

Tracey Emin – I once read a small article about her art in a magazine. In one of her works, she embroidered the names of her lovers on a tent and exhibited them. I found that very surprising and innovative. Later, I had the chance to see her exciting works in London. That can only be described as rock’n’roll in art! That really impressed me. She used blue carbon paper to transfer drawings onto paper. This results in an animated, somewhat diffuse image. An indirect kind of drawing. I would also describe this as a form of printing.

Stefanie in Podcast

Listen to Stefanie on this podcast in german: Kultur & Wort #16 Stefanie Neumann: Technik-Freak mit Papierleidenschaft

In the series »DGA Faces« we gradually introduce the artists working here. In this way, we share the concentrated printing knowledge of the studio with you digitally too!