Questions about poster printing for my essay!

[Biggles]

Hi! Been on this site for years, first time I've actually signed up to the forum.
Anyway, I've got some questions I'd like to ask the community here (due to my lack of knowledge) about certain types of poster screen-prints.

I'm writing a large dissertation along with a final art piece (where I hope to silk-screen a new rendition of a film poster) which I have to submit by the end of the year. So at the minute I'm trying to figure out which would be the best title for my project to use.
I don't want it to be too broad that I could write endlessly without being specific, but at the same time it can't be too specific that there is not enough to write about!

Anyway here's some questions:

Is there a large history behind Film screen-prints?

What books/web sources would you recommend for studying modern screen-printing artists?
Is there any specific books that look at Film poster screen-prints from the past or today?

Is there an indication that there has been a rise or decline of independent screen-printing artists from the past 40 years up to today? (My guess is that there has been a rise, but I'm not so sure about in the past)

Other than gig-posters and film posters, what are the other main types of screen-prints that have become more recognised for their artistic qualities over the years?

Is there any resources available for past essays on the subject of silk-screening, change of style with gig-posters/general screenprinting?

I know I may seem like a total newbie with these questions, but any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[halfmassive]

"Other than gig-posters and film posters, what are the other main types of screen-prints that have become more recognised for their artistic qualities over the years?"

Check out any graphic arts history book from a library to get a general sense of the scope of screen printed imagery. There are tons of propaganda posters from the World War eras that, even though most were not actually screen printed, hold an aesthetic quality that is consistent with many screen printed posters. One of my favorite books of historical screen prints is Posters for the People (search it at amazon) which covers a wide range of screen printed posters created by the WPA during the depression era. Subject matter ranges from fighting syphilis to going to the Brookfield Zoo, but just about all are screen printed.

Good luck and its nice to see that this doesn't need to be completed by Friday or anything.

[dspring]

I remember going to school and having to research things to find the answers rather than just throwing my questions on the internet and waiting for someone to answer them for me...

I'm grumpy today...

[Iron Canvas Studios]

this site is a great resource... also google is your friend.

[squeegeethree]

"Is there a large history behind Film screen-prints?"
Not in comparison to Litho posters which is the norm and always has been.

Is there any specific books that look at Film poster screen-prints from the past or today?
There are plenty of Movie poster books but none that I know of just for screenprints. As I stated above it is not the normal way of printing movie posters. Litho is the standard as it is much faster and cheaper.

Is there an indication that there has been a rise or decline of independent screen-printing artists from the past 40 years up to today? (My guess is that there has been a rise, but I'm not so sure about in the past)
There are less screenprint artists and shops than there were pre-digital age not more. It just seems that there are more because the remainder are vocal in keeping their craft alive and the interwebs makes the end-product more visible.

Other than gig-posters and film posters, what are the other main types of screen-prints that have become more recognised for their artistic qualities over the years?
Well, the quick answer to this is to familiarize yourself with the multitude of fine-art artists using screenprinting in their work. I print over 300 screenprint editions a year and only a handful are posters.

Is there any resources available for past essays on the subject of silk-screening, change of style with gig-posters/general screenprinting?
I'm sure there are a ton of articles at your disposal, but I would steer away from a thesis involving "change of style" as it is so subjective. There are as many styles as can be imagined and you'd be hard press to find a change as the history of graphic imagery is so vast. If anything you might be able to link a thesis of change to the way digital technology assists in traditional print processes.

Good Luck