New Movie I

The New Movie series represents a significant collaborative printmaking project between Gilliam and Tandem Press in 2008. This series demonstrates Gilliam’s continued exploration of materiality and his commitment to pushing the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and printmaking.

The New Movie prints combine translucent printed layers with decorative papers and wood veneer, creating a multi-dimensional work that exists between traditional printmaking and sculptural assemblage. This approach is characteristic of Gilliam’s experimental printmaking practice, in which he would often disrupt conventional methods by taking printed elements back to his studio to cut apart and reassemble in collage form.

The layered, translucent quality of these works creates a cinematic effect—suggesting frames, sequences, or the way light filters through film. The incorporation of wood veneer and decorative papers adds dimensionality and texture, pushing beyond flat printmaking into more sculptural territory.

Sam Gilliam had a particularly significant relationship with Tandem Press and its founder, William Weege. Their collaboration began in the early 1970s when Gilliam practiced printmaking with Weege at his Jones Road Print Shop in Wisconsin. When Weege founded Tandem Press in 1987, Gilliam became the press’s inaugural visiting artist, creating Purple Antelope Space Squeeze, the first editioned work published by Tandem.

Gilliam returned to Tandem Press in 2007-2008 to create the New Movie series, marking more than two decades of collaborative printmaking with the institution. This return visit represented a continuation of his decades-long investigation into the possibilities of printmaking and his commitment to bridging the gaps between painting, prints, and sculpture.