festival update
Poster art reminiscent of the late 60s proves the industry remains alive andwell at Fun Fun Fun Fest
When I think of concert poster art, my mind immediately jumps to the late 60s in San Francisco, CA, when Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix were playing gigs at the legendary Fillmore. A time when detailed, hand-drawn posters likely provided more trippy, freeform illustrations than pertinent concert information. A time when LSD and the evolution of rock n’ roll were creating a counterculture.
Perhaps it’s part of our own modern evolution from pen-to-paper to finger-to-keyboard, but in general, music poster art seems to have lost its allure over the years. You don’t necessarily need to walk down all of the independent music venues on Red River to stumble across what great band is taking the stage soon. You go to Google and find a venue’s website, consult a friendly online listing service or click “accept” on a Facebook event invite.
Even with a less perceived promotional value, the art of creating the music or concert poster still exists—and actually thrives—here in Austin. There a tons of local shops designing one-of-a-kind pieces for artists and venues (local and national) that still manage to capture the essence of an art from that thrived in the 60s when rock n’ roll was still big and powerful.
This weekend, many of those local shops, sixteen to be exact, have set up temporary storefronts at Auditorium Shores as part of the Fun Fun Fun Poster Show, presented by the American Poster Institute. On the south side of the grounds of Fun Fun Fun Fest, there’s a dynamic collective of colorful and genre-crossing posters on display (and available for purchase).
If you’re headed down to Auditorium Shores this weekend, take a little detour on your route to the Black Stage and check out some of these local artists that are keeping the rock n’ roll music poster alive.
The Decoder Ring: Not only does this collective design posters for the likes of Deer Tick and Broken Social Scene, but they also build brand identities for some of your favorite local guilty pleasures (Stubb’s, Frank, Black Sheep Lodge).
Penhead: Home to the work of Billy Perkins, who has created an impressive collection of hand-drawn illustrations of a host of famous musicians, Penhead is also the designer of the limited edition poster for Buck Bash at the Continental Club each August.
Empire Press: Designing beautiful posters for the likes of St. Vincent, Black Keys and Okkervil River, Empire Press’s Farley Bookout draws inspiration from her love of war propaganda illustration to create imagery of “pensive women in lonely spaces.”