Chuck Sperry

By

Soundgarden San Francisco Poster

“Summer Print-athalon 2011” culminates with my Soundgarden, San Francisco poster. There’s so much symbology in the details of this poster, that I think it’s more fun to let you figure it out. So I won’t say anything here. Overall theme is a soothsayer; I feel a lot of Soundgarden’s lyrics are broad and mystical – having a prophetic quality. The figure is one of my Evil Masonic Voodoo Zombies (perhaps a more serious, 33rd degree version).

God this show rocked! I love when the poster and the stage coincidentally (or synchronistically) match. During “Black Hole Sun” the eye in the forehead of the skull grew into a big black dot like the poster – and then turned into a film projection of the sun with an edge of coronal mass ejection – it was veeeeeery cool.

Soundgarden, The Mars Volta,
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, July 21, 2011
22 x 33
5 colors on archival cream paper
Signed and Numbered / Artist Edition of 100
Sold Out – Thank You!

By

Eddie Vedder Long Beach Poster

Here’s my Eddie Vedder Long Beach poster – designed and handprinted – full of translusent and metallic inks. I have to tell you it’s good to be back making rock posters!
–
The reference in the poster is to the SurfRiders Foudation Long Beach Chapter who are fighting to “Sink the Breakwater.” The breakwater is a tidal barrier that was built across Long Beach harbor in the 1940’s. The breakwater is blocking the waves, that not only provided good surf, but provided tidal action which cleaned the environment of the beach. I asked Mr. Vedder if he minded the advocacy of this poster, and the response I got was that he totally loved the idea. So it’s Poseidon, god of the sea busting down the breakwater and bringing the surf back to Long Beach.
–
Eddie Vedder, Long Beach, July 6, 2011
23 x 35
6 colors on archival cream paper
Signed and Numbered / Artist Edition of 100
SOLD OUT – Thank you!
–
Here’s a digital jpeg of the same poster. It shows some of the details, but can’t show the effects of the metallic inks that the actual photograph above shows.

 

 

By

The Black Keys, Council Bluffs, Iowa – July 5, 2011

The Black Keys, Cage The Elephant, Council Bluffs, Iowa

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

30 x 22

Edition of 212

6 colors on archival cream paper

Sold Out – Thank You!

For this poster I used a font which evokes the kind of font used in the chrome names of cars, a clear reference to the automobile manufacturing industry that supports Akron, Ohio where the band is from. I’m from Dayton, Ohio so it’s a source of pride there that we build cars and car parts. Akron is a big manufacturer of tires. The font is saying, yep, The Black Keys built in Akron. You find a custom designed wallpaper specifically designed for The Black Keys. It’s similar to the kind of Edwardian wallpaper you encounter all over the heartland of Ohio (and coincidentally here in SF which has a rich Victorian era heritage). Wallpaper was one of the first industrial uses of silkscreen, and that’s why I use it from time to time – customizing designs specifically for each poster. The woman wears a sunflower in her hair, an obvious reference to the sun. I felt that the flood ravaged areas surrounding Council Bluffs were tired of hearing about the negatives surrounding the flood. I wanted to bring them an image that would bring a positive sun-drenched feeling to them. I’m sure that a lot of people who rocked out at the show were there to put their worries behind them. Rocking out to The Black Keys and a positive image like this one might be good medicine.

 

Archives

Sperry Books: “Color x Color” • “Helikon” • “Chthoneon” • “Idyllion”

Latest Blog Posts