Boulder Dam, Blue - I

Max Hein

Northern California printmaker Max Hein was a pioneer in screenprint experimentation. For this image Hein used a photographic image of Boulder Dam, printed in black and created other screens with Ben-Day patterns where small colored dots are closely spaced, widely spaced or overlapping to create other colors. This process was used commercially for printing reproductive posters and comic books. In the 1960s artists began to apply this technique to original compositions.

Hein used primary colors of red, yellow and blue to create other secondary colors and movement. The result is that the viewer "sees" the dam through a mist of color and light and dark.