COOP’s “Memento Mori”

Coop’s “1949 Mercury” was our largest print ever... until now. We started trying to figure out a sequel as soon as the ink on the Mercuries dried, and we’re happy to release it today: “Memento Mori.”

It’s big!

We tried a new paper when printing these: Arches 88. The paper is smooth, soft, thick, and—lacking any sizing—completely disintegrates in water. Printing an image with big solid blacks like this dry (and with as much punch as we wanted to give it) proved to be a bit of a challenge. Dry paper is likely to crack and pull under pressure, and is less receptive to ink; printing dry you walk a fine line between patchy, under-inked solids and sloppy, over-inked linework.

But a day of trial, error, and trickery later we’d ironed out the kinks and arrived at a great print. Killer blacks, razor sharp edges, a deep deboss... giving this awesome image the huge, precise presentation it deserves.

A quick trip to LA to get them signed...

...and we were ready to go. We only printed a regular edition of 25 of these, so get them while they’re hot: “Memento Mori” is available now on pressureprinting.com.

The Print:

• Printed from an original COOP image
• Arches 88 printmaking paper
• Hand-printed relief in black ink
• Hand signed by COOP

The Certificate of Authenticity:

• Custom designed, embossed, and perforated
• Signed and numbered by the artist

The Edition:

• Released May 2012
• Print size is 42” x 30”
• Edition of 25
• 5 printer proofs
• 5 artist’s proofs
• 1 bon à tirer