This week the Design Observer announced the CIPB. "Seehpppppbt?" Okay, that's not an acronym'able name. Let's call it the Chicago International Poster Biennial, which is a first (while other IPB's exist, this is Chi-town's first), and is free to enter. While on the one hand, I'm excited, on the other, I'm hoping not to be let down.
As of today I'm entering two posters, which I'm showing here (in finger-hold format) so you can track my probable defeat:
These posters were produced for an annual student design event, and they're about all I have for posters. We've done a few for the ol' Be A Design Cast, but those weren't really what I'd call "CIPB material." One of them, at least, is too small (smaller than the 16.5" x 13.4" minimum) and the rest of my posters were produced before January of 2006. A few people on the comments section of DO have bitched about the minimum size requirement and others, but that just backs up my old theory that stupid 8.5" x 11" or 11" x 17" posters aren't posters: they're flyers. When the Chicago International Flyer Biennial ramps up, those guys can go apeshit.
These posters were produced for an annual student design event, and they're about all I have for posters. We've done a few for the ol' Be A Design Cast, but those weren't really what I'd call "CIPB material." One of them, at least, is too small (smaller than the 16.5" x 13.4" minimum) and the rest of my posters were produced before January of 2006. A few people on the comments section of DO have bitched about the minimum size requirement and others, but that just backs up my old theory that stupid 8.5" x 11" or 11" x 17" posters aren't posters: they're flyers. When the Chicago International Flyer Biennial ramps up, those guys can go apeshit.The judges are renown poster designers whose amazing work you can see here, and that's the part of this that excites me most. Why? Because Modern Dog and Aesthetic Apparatus aren't on the list. Not to bag on those two shops, but so much of what seems to have come to define the American Poster these days (at least to the design community at large) seems to stem from them. AA has produced a legion of clones that have made the silkscreened poster omnipresent (w/o regard to AA's quality) while Modern Dog, well, they just make shit up as they go. I just can't abide that as good design; no matter how good it looks, it's ultimately shallow.
I'm hoping these judges will shed some light on the rest of the posters of the world -- the unsung styles. Show us something new and groundbreaking -- the future, in other words, not the past. Three artists/designers will receive medals, and one will be crowned grand champion with a more special gold medal. All told, only 100 posters will be selected. And that's the most encouraging/defeating part of the whole thing. It's free to enter, so there's no reason not to, but your odds of being selected are somewhere between winning the lottery and landing on the moon. The encouraging side is that all of those silkscreened posters based on obscure band lyrics touting an upcoming show, or some bullshit thing made for just Flatstock, are all going to look exactly the same, giving the rest of us a better chance by simply being different.
Or I could be wrong, and it could all be AA-clones, Modern Dog penis-cat posters, silkscreened thingies based on obscure band lyrics, and bullshit posters made for just Flatstock. We'll find out this Fall, I guess. Until then, get your entries in before May 27!
i was at chapters today flipping through books and one of them was the modern dog : 20 years of poster art - the question that came to mind almost every time i turned the page ... what the shit?
some of the posters actually made me angry
in fairness there were a few hot ones, but none so hot that i can recall now what they even were
look forward to seeing all the submissions
and good luck
Good luck Nate. I think your Un-Poster deserves some recognition. At least for all the time, thought and effort that must have gone into it. It's a great piece.
Thanks!
Maybe there will be a bunch of those flush left, text only posters. Then again, I think most of those only exist on blogs.
Here's where I admit that I not only like the recent screen printed poster movement, but I also like Rosewood Filled.
Not a huge fan of Modern Dog, but some of their shit's cool.
Jay Ryan is also one of the judges. It could be argued that he's one of the most influential folks in gigposterdom, too (he definitely has been to me). I respectfully disagree with your size-makes-the-poster theory. The last time I checked, flyers were things you handed out...but to each his own. Semantic disagreements are boring, as I'm sure you'd agree.
All in all, I can't wait to see what gets chosen. Should be interesting.
I know, right? We're very interested in this show, and we're going to be doing more to support it here on the site in the next few days.
Hoping for 137 comments?
Jay Ryan is a bit of a god over there at gigposters, so looks like they aren't flat out ignoring certain segments of the poster world.
It would be a shame if all the posters were gig posters, but it would be just as much of a shame if the show ended up being another collection of pseudo-swiss-no-content posters that so many national AIGA posters end up looking like. Here's to good and effective design no matter if it was designed for a rock show, an MP3 player or a tire company.
Not fishing for angry comments at all. I think we're all over that now.
God I hate gigposters!
I'm sick of the entire masturbatorial gigposters scene. Everyone just rips everyone else off.
I mean, look at this: http://www.gigposters.com/poster/80766_Books.html
It looks IDENTICAL to this:
http://www.gigposters.com/poster/94057_Genghis_Tron.html
And look! More of the same:
http://www.gigposters.com/poster/62086_Wilco.html
Fucking gigposters. Wake me up when someone in that scene does some GOOD work...
Eric,
[sarcasm] Yes, I think it would be a great idea to misrepresent my comments above as hate for gig posters. [/sarcasm]
I think you're confusing us with this rant and flamewar over at BA, which was begun by your co-worker, I believe. Nobody said "fuck gig posters" and nobody said "all gig posters look the same."
Of course I'm not against people silkscreening posters for shows. However, for a period of about 2 to 3 years it was all I seemed to see in design annuals and awards shows, as though all other posters ceased to exist. What excites me most about the CIPB is the chance to see something more than what we've been seeing.
And yes I am Anti-AA-Clones (much to some of my peers' disappointment, I am not anti-AA). But to assume that the entire gig-poster scene is comprised of AA-clones is ridiculous (I made no such claim) and would be a mistake.
Have a super day.
Um, okay, it was just pointed out to me that I did, in fact, say that all those posters will look "exactly the same." Right.
Well then, point to you, Mr. Eric. Well played.
No sweat.
I was agreeing with you anyway.
http://www.chicagobiennial.org/finalists.html
Looks like your kick ass posters aren't so kick ass after all.
You are correct Betty, anything that does not win an International design award is complete trash.
Decoder Ring, Decoder Ring, Emek, AA, Jason Munn, Michael Strassburger . . . Just briefly looking at the list of the USA winning entries, almost half are from gig poster people (not that their winning poster couldn't be something different).
Looks like there might be a good portion of "silkscreened posters based on obscure band lyrics touting an upcoming show . . ."
Disappointing, I think. But that's just the USA winners. Bierut and Scher are on there, too, so it looks like instead of showing us the new, mind-blowing talent we weren't even aware of yet, we're going to see the exact same A-class we always see.
Thankfully there are another 21 countries to be seen as well.
The judges are from all areas of design - only 1 is a gigposter artist himself. And having been involved with competitions in the past, it takes more than half the judges (usually around 75%) for a piece to make it in. If this work impresses designers from other countries (who have no idea who these US designers are), then there's something going on that Nate Voss and Donovan Beery are missing. If you want to hold a critical discussion, than move on to talking about what merits a great poster because all this talk about "mind-blowing new talent" sounds more like jealousy to myself and other people.
Winners announced. Congrats to Aesthetic Apparatus for bringing in a Silver.
This article is pretty insulting to a lot of hard working folks.
I fail to see why anyone in this field would be against any designer getting their work recognized. Who cares if it's a poster for a rock show, an awareness campaign or a garage sale. If it's well designed it's well designed. And the people you are talking about as "disappointing" are good designers.
Maybe the reason we saw so many rock posters in annuals a couple years ago is due to everyone being tired of offset 4 colour design or annual reports so silk screen felt refreshing. Along with being a designer I run our print shop so I prefer silk screen. I'm not going to dismiss a great poster though if it's not silk screened.
This attitude that AA or Jason Munn or we aren't worthy to have work in annuals or shows is retarded. Rock posters aren't all we do but it's what a lot of people ask us for. The comments above basically say we suck as designers and people who don't make rock posters are better than us. That's a pretty open minded stance to take.
Something wrong with all forms of design coexisting?
I'm always surprised at how simply disagreeing with a person or entity in a perceived position of power or authority in one's own professional field is so quickly dismissed as jealously.
For the record and let me be clear — I like the guys at Aesthetic Apparatus. I love their work. I think they are hilarious. I have no problem with them being awarded for being the best (or, due to the silver, second-best?).
My beef with the CIPB was that I wanted to see something new and I didn't. I wanted to see new and emerging talent from my own country and I didn't. I saw mostly the same group I always see. I am not saying they aren't or weren't worthy, but I am questioning that they are the only ones who are.
Nate,
The jury can only judge the pieces that are entered. This was the first edition on the Biennial in Chicago. I hope more US designers enter the competition in 2010, because it would be ideal to have the very best of American poster design in the show. That said, of the 21 countries represented, only Poland had as many designers featured in the Biennial.
US designers DID (or will in the catalogue) get to see some things most have never seen before. How many are really aware of the work of the amazing Franciszek Starowieyski of Poland or any of the dozen Iranian designers who made this show?
Something important happened here. It can always be perfected, as long as there is participation. And hey, it's free to enter, so there's one less excuse for not entering the 2010 Biennial.
Later.