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Walking around D.C. you sometimes catch posters for shows at the Black Cat or 9:30 Club hung up in random places. They always seem a bit ragged and most often ripped up from the elements or from bored hands. Unfortunately, the street isn't the most forgiving gallery, but silk-screened gig posters do bring art to the masses. Sweet: The Graphic Beauty of the Contemporary Rock Poster brings this medium in from the cold and displays a feast for art and music lovers alike.
Curated by University of Maryland Department of Art printmaking professor Justin Strom, and by The Art Gallery’s Exhibition Designer, John Shipman, the show includes work from over 25 artists, whose work is displayed on almost all available wall and column space at the gallery. Each artist’s work is grouped together, but this small organizational feat doesn’t diminish the uncertainty over where to start looking.
Bands such as Spoon, the Shins, Queens of the Stone Age, and Modest Mouse are well represented. VHS or Beta has a fun tour poster by 33RPM Design, sporting a galaxy theme with soft dark blues and light spots for constellations that mark tour dates and info. The typography and the composition bring Star Wars to mind.
Local bands and venues also make an appearance at Sweet. A poster by Strawberryluna advertises Tori Amos’ show at DAR Constitution Hall in October 2007. The poster portrays a faceless Amos with clean lines and a brush of her signature red hair. Local artist Anthony Dihle also represents the home town in the show. Dihle works mostly with local D.C. bands and venues and is inspired by D.C. imagery – metro tunnels are a common them in his work – as well as the sound of the band. The slimmer dimensions of Dihle’s poster for a Lejeune show (pictured left) makes for an interesting composition. The subtle coloring of the sunset over the row houses puts emphasis on the band’s name and helps it stand out.
The posters are hung simply on the wall by pins but this does not diminish how professional they all are. The Decemberists have a few different posts on the wall, including one by Diana Sudyka, whose work is remarkable. One of her pieces for a Pearl Jam benefit concert is of particular interest. Horizontal in composition, Sudyka uses flat colors to create a small island of muted colored horses in the middle of a sea. The sea’s horizon line stops halfway up the page and let’s the manila color of the paper color the sky. White clouds with thin black outlines drift along, similar to those in her Decemberists piece (pictured right). The work is simple and elegant.
In the back of the gallery, Jesse LeDoux, creates a site-specific installation complete with large stand alone paper bag puppets and a brightly colored mural of cartoon creatures with large eyes. The effect is very surreal and unsettling because of the large size of the strange puppets and the uncertainty over where they are all headed.
On March 5, John Foster, a well known designer, will present a gallery talk on the history of rock posters, discussing several works in the exhibition, past and contemporary styles, and sources of inspiration, to round out the poster viewing experience.
Gallery shot and the Decemberists image courtesy of The Art Gallery – UMD
Lejeune image courtesy of Anthony Dihle
Sweet is on display through March 29 at the Art Gallery at University of Maryland, College Park in the Art-Sociology Building. Gallery talk by John Foster is March 5 at 3 p.m. The gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with extended hours on Wednesday until 6 p.m. For more information including directions please visit the gallery's web site.
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