Chuck Sperry

By

Widespread Panic, Ames, Iowa

WP AMES REGULAR

Widespread Panic, Ames, Iowa
22 x 32
Show Edition of 200
9 colors on metallic lapis lazuli paper
Signed and numbered
_______________
This poster will be available at the show through Widespread Panic.
_______________
Due to my preparations for my solo show at Spoke Art Gallery – opening on November 29, 2014 (I will be making very limited wood panel art editions for Spoke) –
I will be waiting to make a very limited online release of both Iowa posters and their variants on December 1, 2014 at a random time.
solo
_______________
The set together:
IOWA-SET
In UV blacklight:
IOWA-FLUO
Widespread Panic asked me to do a pair of posters for their Fall Tour 2014, and I wanted to do something different. I love the challenge of doing two, or three, or four related posters. The prospect of doing two posters that relate to each other is an exciting creative challenge. For fans of Widespread Panic posters I’ve become well-known for my series of long locked, flower laden “Ladies” for the band. This diptych of posters for Widespread Panic’s 2014 Fall Tour gigs in Cedar Rapids and Ames, Iowa concentrates on the flowers — no lady.
–
These posters are a gift to the band, like the flowers thoughtful folks bring to performers after the show, a thank you for rocking the house down to the ground — or like the flowers thrown on stage, gathered up and arranged in a pitcher like a beautiful memory. I hope I’m expressing the feeling of a Widespread Panic night in 9 bright psychedelic colors — some fluorescent eye-fry and some shimmering metallic. Flowers have long been a classic subject for the artist. I am seeking to create a pop poster that hides all the information in the subject image of the poster itself.

By

Widespread Panic, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

WP CEDAR RAPIDS REGULAR

Widespread Panic, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
22 x 32
Show Edition of 200
9 colors on metallic lapis lazuli paper
Signed and numbered
_______________
This poster will be available at the show through Widespread Panic.
_______________
Widespread Panic asked me to do a pair of posters for their Fall Tour 2014, and I wanted to do something different. I love the challenge of doing two, or three, or four related posters. The prospect of doing two posters that relate to each other is an exciting creative challenge. For fans of Widespread Panic posters I’ve become well-known for my series of long locked, flower laden “Ladies” for the band. This diptych of posters for Widespread Panic’s 2014 Fall Tour gigs in Cedar Rapids and Ames, Iowa concentrates on the flowers — no lady.
–
These posters are a gift to the band, like the flowers thoughtful folks bring to performers after the show, a thank you for rocking the house down to the ground — or like the flowers thrown on stage, gathered up and arranged in a pitcher like a beautiful memory. I hope I’m expressing the feeling of a Widespread Panic night in 9 bright psychedelic colors — some fluorescent eye-fry and some shimmering metallic. Flowers have long been a classic subject for the artist. I am seeking to create a pop poster that hides all the information in the subject image of the poster itself.

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.

 

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

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