Pearl Jam, Oslo, Norway, 2012
Chuck Sperry VS. Chris Shaw
22 x 33
Artist Edition of 200
5 colors on archival cream paper
Signed and Numbered

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I teamed up with Chris Shaw to make Pearl Jam’s Oslo poster. Both Chris and I have made Pearl Jam posters in the mid-1990’s. So Oslo’s Pearl Jam poster is a mix of New School and Old School Rock Poster Art.

Since the theme of the PJ tour posters is VS, we immediately thought of a Ying-Yang form as a good way to communicate that idea.

Then we thought of that crazy “Norway Spiral” that filled the night sky over Norway a couple years back (because we both love unexplained and mysterious phenomena like that, even if it was probably a Russian rocket spinning out of control).

We gave it a psychedelic edge by making a Ying-Yang out of the form of the Norway Spiral, and creating two flying eyeballs, representing the opposing forces of Fire and Water. We wanted this poster to have a touch of skater punk, Psychedelia, and to just be iconic and bad-ass.

The small, subtle, silver spirals in the background, not only mirrors the Ying-Yang of the central image, but is inspired by Rosemalling, which is a Norwegian folk-art of decorative painting. This form of decoration originated in the rural valleys of Norway during the Baroque and Rococo Period in the mid 18th Century. It was a folk response to the intricate designs the wealthy folks in Norway were importing. The forms are usually simple and based on “C” and “S” forms. That seemed appropriate since Chris Shaw and Chuck Sperry are both “CS” names.