Posters - no more skulls please

mwplum

I'll admit it, like many PJ fans, I am a poster geek. It started years ago with "ill just get ones from shows I've been to" but has now morphed into "just getting really cool ones" (which for me, Oslo is the only one this year).

To me it seems that a lot of the fans/consumers, put a lot of effort into displaying the posters. Most of us are at an age where, they're not just getting tacked up on some dorm wall; they're getting the royal treatment, being displayed in multi-matted frames that sometimes cost upwards of $200 - 300 just for the frames (see: massive 300 page thread for proof).

So all I'm saying is that as PJ expands the amount of artists they're using (which is cool and fresh), it would be nice to have a bit of a directive from the band, or communication between the artists so that skulls don't appear in so many posters. They just look played out, boring, and tired.

Feel free to flame me down if you think I'm way off base, and I'm not saying the band should curtail artistic freedom, but like in the last year, skulls have appeared in Vancouver, Auckland, Amsterdam (year that one is cooler because of the description), Baltimore, Charlottesville, Lincoln, Tulsa, and maybe more.

Personally, I would prefer city-specific posters. Like in Seattle 09 Surfing sasquatch was rad incorporating the space needle and pacific north west elements, or just other fresh new ideas.

Anyways, that's my rant, I'd be keen to hear what others think.

Out of My Mind and Time

Nope. Disagree . More skulls. Rock band. Keep it rock band.

cifrancgx

I do think it is nice when the poster represents the city they are playing in. The Pittsburgh 2013 poster is a good example of that, with Pittsburgh being known for its history of producing Steel (jn the past at least).

3days

I respect the OP's opinion, and I don't have a skull fetish. However, I think that we should leave the art to the artists. My opinion is that critique is fair game, but they should be able to create before we critique.

dimitrispearljam

i like the poster to be pretty,have unique theme and artist put some effort to make it..

Mr. Foro

While I don't see that band telling the artists what to do, I will agree that I think skulls have been played out. As one of the consumers so described above, I have no problem voicing my opinion.

handreads7-30

evenflow82 said:

Looks like ed hardy and affliction are designing the PJ posters with all of these skulls.

They need some rhinestones, gothic lettering, daggers, eagles and flames too....

evenflow82 said:

There needs to be a macho noun plastered on there too.

"valor", "brutality" "honor".

Completely agree with OP as this was brought up last week when the Lincoln print was released. Maybe this is the direction the band is moving toward? Skulls and ape-men. I get we are overly critical and at the end of day this is a form of art. How does one really criticize art? Oh well. I guess more skulls, more ape-men. Bring on the "macho nouns"!!

HONOR....CODE....LOYALTY

pjsteelerfan

Hopefully the St Paul poster is unicorns jumping over double rainbows in fields of flowers with butterflies.

bootlegger10

3days said:

I respect the OP's opinion, and I don't have a skull fetish. However, I think that we should leave the art to the artists. My opinion is that critique is fair game, but they should be able to create before we critique.

They are selling it to us the fans though. They are making a product for us to buy.

handreads7-30

pjsteelerfan said:

Hopefully the St Paul poster is unicorns jumping over double rainbows in fields of flowers with butterflies.

Can't wait!! I hope there will be a skull/ape-man riding a unicorn!

Vitalogensia

pjsteelerfan said:

Hopefully the St Paul poster is unicorns jumping over double rainbows in fields of flowers with butterflies.

)

mwplum

handreads7-30 said:

pjsteelerfan said:

Hopefully the St Paul poster is unicorns jumping over double rainbows in fields of flowers with butterflies.

Can't wait!! I hope there will be a skull/ape-man riding a unicorn!

haha, they could just take the ape/wolf man from Vancouver 2011 poster and put him on a unicorn!

But seriously, what handreads7-30 mentioned is what spurned me to write the post. Having not played Nebraska in so long, even if the artist wanted to keep the theme (which may have seemingly been better suited for a show in Maine/Newfoundland/Halifax), it wouldn't have been too hard to make it more area-specific, like change the lighthouse to a silo or something. I love that Pittsburgh one, and ones like it where city-specific thought has gone into it (even Oslo this year too goes back to the history/folklore). If you look at some of the most popular ones over the past few years that seems to be the case.

Anyways, I'm not saying that the images need to be care bears hugging furbies. I'm just saying that Pearl Jam fans don't seem to be the mass consuming skull people. Metallica fans maybe, but....

Maybe there needs to be better communication with artists before the tours? Like assigning cities to individual artists several months in advance so that they have time to be more creative? With so much money going into posters (these are really rough estimates but.... like 500 pieces at show x $30 = $15,000 + usually 100 artist edition x $50 (or more) = $5000, plus some 10C later releases say 200 x 30 = $6000 ($15,000 + $5000 = +6000 = $26,000)

...so a total of maybe $26,000 per poster less mfg costs, creative costs.....in any event A LOT of money per poster per show, so skulls and recycled images remain, in my opinion, really lame.

63schoefflin

If you don't like it don't buy it. I'm a huge poster guy but I only have bought prints to probably 25 % of the 21 PJ shows be been to. I'm not a skull guy but the Lincoln poster is pretty awesome.

pjsteelerfan

Not sure what you mean by more creative, art is in the eye of the beholder. Like 63Schoefflin, I really like the Lincoln print. It seems more often than not, PJ posters are tied to the cities/areas they play, but not always. And there are thousands of gig posters created every year, so bound to get some overlap. As amazing as an artist like EMEK, or Chuck Sperry,, you see a great deal of similar stuff in each of their prints.

wwsuicide

...think I'm good on owls as well....

demetrios

pjsteelerfan said:

Hopefully the St Paul poster is unicorns jumping over double rainbows in fields of flowers with butterflies.

Here's an early rough sketch of the soon to be PJ St.Paul '14 print. :-B

pjsteelerfan

demetrios said:

pjsteelerfan said:

Hopefully the St Paul poster is unicorns jumping over double rainbows in fields of flowers with butterflies.

Here's an early rough sketch of the soon to be PJ St.Paul '14 print. :-B

^:)^

I'd buy that for a dollar

Abe Froman

I like skulls. Keep em coming.

tempo_n_groove

No more apes/gorillas...

handreads7-30

me waiting inline for d's sweet print:

EnterThanman

63schoefflin said:

If you don't like it don't buy it. I'm a huge poster guy but I only have bought prints to probably 25 % of the 21 PJ shows be been to. I'm not a skull guy but the Lincoln poster is pretty awesome.

Seconded.

eddiec

For me there's no correlation between PJ and skulls. I've never once thought about PJ and had an image of a skull pop in my head. But that's just me.

OctopuS27

Coke

Pepsi

:o3

Vitalogensia

pjsteelerfan said:

demetrios said:

pjsteelerfan said:

Hopefully the St Paul poster is unicorns jumping over double rainbows in fields of flowers with butterflies.

Here's an early rough sketch of the soon to be PJ St.Paul '14 print. :-B

^:)^

I'd buy that for a dollar

) I don't know if you are quoting RoboCop or Smash TV, either way it's awesome.

Sarava

I really like the Lincoln print, though a lighthouse doesn't seem to fit Nebraska and probably should have been used for the Milwaukee show.

boyo79

Skulls are this years owls in the PJ poster world it seems. Wasn't too long ago everyone was complaining the posters all had owls or birds on them. While I'll say if I don't like a poster, I certainly wouldn't suggest what the posters should have on them. I can't draw for shit.

I dig the Lincoln poster, easily the best of this tour so far.

2-feign-reluctance

Owls are still all the rage for decorating babies rooms.

jlaustin

eddiec said:

For me there's no correlation between PJ and skulls. I've never once thought about PJ and had an image of a skull pop in my head. But that's just me.

Well except for the Riot Act skull... See avatar.

bgirl59

Mr. Foro said:

While I don't see that band telling the artists what to do, I will agree that I think skulls have been played out. As one of the consumers so described above, I have no problem voicing my opinion.

what he said- enough already with the skulls - IMO O:-)

BF89905

bgirl59 said:

Mr. Foro said:

While I don't see that band telling the artists what to do, I will agree that I think skulls have been played out. As one of the consumers so described above, I have no problem voicing my opinion.

what he said- enough already with the skulls - IMO O:-)

I agree...... Keep things creative - minus the skulls and other weirdness

evenflow82

Skulls seem brainless and macho. I bet Chad Krieger has a lot of shirts with skulls on them.