Print It Loud Issue #40

A concert poster renaissance

By Christine Bejasa
Published: June 1st, 2009 | 12:00am

Filling a venue may be its primary duty, but at the end of the night — after the houselights turn on and the band hits the road — the gig poster takes on an entirely different role. Far from disposable marketing materials, rock posters continue to exist as something ephemeral, nostalgic, and even precious.

From early Hatch-style posters trumpeting early country to the psychedelic placards of the 1960s, concert posters have long held an important place in music fandom. But it wasn’t until the dawn of indie rock that concert posters became truly ubiquitous.

Meet three amazing female artists whose contributions to contemporary poster art are shaping the indie rock motif:

AMY JO (missamyjo.com)

Minneapolis, MN

Preferred medium(s):
Collage and screen-printing

Personal aesthetic:
“Eighteenth-century psychedelica spilled onto a 1960s Christmas catalog.”

Print community affiliations:
Who Made Who (whomadewho.etsy.com)

Commissioned by:
Mudhoney, the Black Keys, the Raveonettes, the Donnas, Black Lips, the Detroit Cobras, of Montreal, the Ponys, Akron/Family, Jay Reatard, the Melvins, Electric Six, the Sadies, the Gossip, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Holly Golightly, Le Tigre Venues: Triple Rock Social Club (Minneapolis)

How did you start screen-printing?
“When I first started making fliers, it was all Xerox. I was really into this copier at Copy Max in Fargo, North Dakota, where I went to college; it was the kind that had different colors of toner. I’d send one layer of red, then black — without even really knowing, I was basically simulating screen-printing. So I had a friend teach me how to screen-print in his efficiency apartment, which was really cool because I got to see that you don’t need a whole lot of expensive equipment to do this.”

What’s the scene like in Minneapolis?
“We have a pretty good DIY craft market. Every year, I [attend] the No Coast Craft-o-Rama, and the Craftstravaganza. We’ve got a lot of screen-printers here.”

JUDGE (judgeworks.com)

Chicago, IL

Preferred medium(s):
Scratchboard, rubylith, silkscreen, hand-painting

Personal aesthetic:
“Graphic, rough, and chiseled.”

Print community affiliations:
Screwball Press (screwballpress.com)

Commissioned by:
Neko Case, Judson Claiborne, Califone, the Mekons, Calexico, Howe Gelb, Hotel Brotherhood, Tift Merritt, Freakwater, the Glorious Vapors, Emma Pollock, Low Skies, Nora O’Connor, Kelly Hogan, the Struts, Manishevitz, Bloodshot Records, Deanna Varagona

Venues:
The Hideout (Chicago), Schubas (Chicago), Ballroom Marfa (Marfa, TX)

What’s it like to participate in huge poster art conventions like Flatstock?
“At Flatstock at SXSW, I got overwhelmed — every 10 feet you’re looking at a different body of work, and there are about 150 tables. It’s awesome, but it’s visual overload. A lot of people have pseudonyms that they print under, so it’s also interesting to meet people who’ll say, ‘I’m so-and-so, but you might know me as…’”

How has Gigposters.com changed the game for poster artists?
“It’s for the public, but it’s also a resource for working artists, which I find useful. If I have a question about something, I can search the site and find a solution. I also like seeing the studio shots where people post where they work, because it’s fascinating to see beautiful posters come out of really primitive setups.”

STRAWBERRY LUNA (strawberryluna.com)

Pittsburgh, PA

Preferred medium(s):
Hand screen-printing

Personal aesthetic:
“A mish-mash of illustrated elements and found images.”

Print community affiliations:
Artists Image Resource, or AIR (artistsimageresource.org)

Commissioned by:
Garbage, Ryan Adams, Iron & Wine, Liz Phair, Sufjan Stevens, Wolfmother, We Are Scientists, Battles, Morrissey, Detroit Cobras, Bloc Party, Spoon, Rilo Kiley, Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin, Tegan and Sara

Is the print community competitive?
“It’s mind-blowing how supportive and awesome the community is. It’s almost cult-like. I don’t know of another industry or art community that is as open. There’s always enough work, bands coming and going, that if your work is good enough, you’ll survive.”

How did you come up with the name Strawberry Luna?
“I made it up one day, because I wanted to ask a question on GigPosters.com. I just wanted to have some distance from my work and my private life, not that it’s that big of a deal. Using your real name, to me, sounds a little like you think you’re hot shit, so I like using an imaginary name to get around that.”