Screen Printing - June/July 2018 - 23

Auguste Renoir, "The Reading Girl," 1965 reproduction
An early print demonstrating Caza's innovative "halftone without
dots" continuous tone process. As demand for such reproductions
grew, Caza developed a technique of printing the images on a thin
canvas that he then laminated to linen to enhance their appeal.

Leonor Fini, "Guardian of the Sources," 1975 original print
Considered one of the most important female artists of the 20th
century, Fini worked with Caza on more than 120 original prints
over a 15-year period.

ments. Or a job that had already been gravure and offset
printed - on lambskin - for one of the most famous artists in
the world. All of these unique projects, and thousands more,
are detailed in the richly illustrated volume.
Along the way, Caza introduces us to some fascinating
characters. Beyond the artists themselves, whose geniuses
and eccentricities are detailed in equal measure, Caza crossed
paths with heads of museums, heads of state (including a
French president and two prime ministers), celebrity fashion
designers, film producers, radicals, protesters, and (sadly)
more than a few unscrupulous clients.
Though he sold his business in 2005, Caza, at 83, remains
an active force in the industry, continuing to speak, consult,
and take on occasional art projects (including a recent commission from FESPA that involved reproducing two paintings done by his wife and business partner, Thérèse). In an
interview conducted by e-mail, Caza discussed the new book,
the current limited-edition art market, and highlights from his
extraordinary career.

depended on a few minutes in Stockholm in a phone booth!
In my book, I describe the phone conversation in detail
and I won't repeat it here, but it was the "key moment" that
determined my life to come - and unbeknownst to me, my
encounter with screen printing.
From this crucial day forward, everything was linked in
a crazy but inexorable logic. These "accidents" brought with
them others. I started to sing jazz and, on one occasion, I met a
"fan," Anita, who became my first wife. She worked in a famous
screen printing workshop, BMJ, where I did a little work (under
the table) in the evening. I found it much more fun and interesting than the psychosociology I was supposed to be writing a
thesis on. I worked full time for six months at BMJ and learned
all the basics of screen printing. I went back to France, did my
required military service, and started screen printing at friends'
shops. Then came practice and research in graphic screen printing, with many inventions in the '50s and '60s.
First one workshop, then a second, and a third, etc. They
grew, and I started with POS displays and, of course, began
art printing in 1960.

SP: You seem destined to have been in the arts -
your father a caricaturist, your grandfather a noted
post-impressionist, your uncle and brother also
painters - yet you found screen printing accidentally.
Why did it change your life?
July 26, 1954 was a crucial date in my life. One that would
decide - without my knowing - my entire future. Life, work,
marriage, new learning, fame, divorce, children... everything

Your timing was impeccable. You entered printing just
as the pop artists were creating new possibilities in the
silk-screened poster. Did you realize what the developing
limited-edition market could mean for printers with
the ability to help artists realize their visions - an
opportunity you and German printer Michael Domberger
are often credited as being the first to see?
JUNE / JULY 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Screen Printing - June/July 2018