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.