by Stacy Zimmer
In 2011, we examined some amazing local concert posters as part of the Frequent Flyers column. For a year-end wrapup, I asked some of the artists we highlighed for their favorite work from the year. Here's what they shared.
"There's just something awesome about starting with a blank canvas and creating. I really lack fine-motor skills, so most kinds of non-digital art aren't my thing. But coming up with original images that can be easily reproduced and distributed is pretty incredible,"
Dub Wardlaw
Concert booker, poster-creator and promoter at Duffy's Tavern, Wardlaw also helps organize local fests like Lincoln Exposed and the Omaha and Lincoln Invasions. He says he'll continue dedicating himself helping grow the thriving, homegrown Nebraska art scene.
Adam Robert Haug (adamroberthauG)
"I design event posters for fun, really. It's a break from monotonous 40-plus-hour-a-week graphic design gigs that had consumed most of my '20s. I design sometimes for friends, sometimes for events I am booking and or performing. Then sometimes I get an email or call asking me if I have time to do a poster for a particular event out of the blue. If I have time, know and or like the bands or the event date or even like the band's names and how they sound together, then I really try and help out and do something."
The Columbus native has won an AIGA 365, and his work is featured in the permanent collection of The Denver Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as the books 1,000 Indie Rock Posters, Big Book of Green Design, Playful Type 2 and this year's Gig Posters: Volume 2. He also designed Hear Nebraska's logo and its variations. Nyffeler's a firm believer in anti-advertising, which shows in his creative, unique style. Along with design work, he plays guitar in the dynamic math band Masses.
"Hipster babes getting high on the beach…sounds like a Best Coast show to me!"
"Bright and loud, just like their live shows."
"I love Iron & Wine, but they tend to get the wimpiest posters ever. So instead of giving them another owl or barn or bird, I gave them an apocalyptic mountain range dipped in moodiness."
"The band asked me for something psychedelic, so I gave them a field of hazy opium and hidden faces."
"The whole time I was working on this poster, I kept making the joke "time keeps on drippin, drippin into the future"'
"Most of my ideas come from simple ideas with simple graphics. Most people look at a poster for just a split second while they walk by. I want to create something simple that will catch their eye and make them stop and see what this poster is all about."
"I get my inspiration from the music, the bands, and the events — depending on which of those inspirations is driving the design, there can be very different outcomes."
"Inspiration can come from anything for me. It might be a movie I just saw, or a cool picture in a history book. Some bands have certain words in their name that instantly conjure up visually appealing subject matter,"
"I designed this poster based on a few episodes of Ancient Aliens I watched"
"The design simply derived from the band Sun Settings' name."
"Allan from Snake Island! said, 'I want something with a black and white spiral, and make it psychedelic looking.'"
"Funny pic I jacked from a piece of junk mail my company sends out. It's actually a postcard about stealing cable that I added my touch to."
Born and bred in the Midwest (S.D., N.D., Minn, Kan.) and growing up on a steady stream of G.I. Joes, Star Wars, BMXing, skateboarding, drawing and dreaming, Christopher Halbkat of Bemis Press Design Shop had the feel for design in his blood.
"Total creative freedom in graphic design is rare. After a day of being dictated what to do at a full-time job, I found a creative outlet in show posters. I suppose I could always try charging more or try harder to sell posters, but In the end, all I really want for most of these posters is to create something cool to hang on my wall and a free ticket or two,"
Since David's feature in Frequent Flyers, he has taken a new route with his art, painting through the inspiration of music.
"I think cool flyers are just as important as ever. I kind of think of it as the 'analog' Facebook,"
Craig Mustard
"When it comes to my work, my inspiration is as ever changing as the wind. I have grown to utilize a wide variety mediums for my personal outcry, which has led me to dabble with graphic design," he says. "Its availability has been extremely seductive and she has proven to be very forgiving, easily. This innate characteristic has given me, time and time again, a stomping ground for my individual interpretation. When it comes to assisting Nebraska's finest performers, the gloves come off and freedom of thought is the celebrated victor. "
