A couple of years ago, a documentary about gig and concert posters called 'Just Like Being There' debuted at SXSW. The documentary featured a few Milwaukee designers and even the Milwaukee band Maritime.
The documentary explores the origins of the scene and its current state through interviews with poster artists, the featured bands as well as gallery owners. It explains the technique of poster making and highlights milestone events for the formation of the scene such as the Flatstock poster fair at SXSW and art shows of some of the most renowned gig poster artists. Adjacent fields such as movie posters and art prints are also discussed.
This Friday, June 20 a group of Milwaukee and Midwest designers will be hosting gig poster exhibit called Silk and Sound. Some of the exhibiting designers were featured in the film 'Just Like Being There.' The exhibit's focused will be on artists performing at this year's Summerfest. Each of the artists involved in the exhibit selected an band performing at Summerfest of their choosing and designed poster. The artists involved in the exhibit include Francisco Ramirez, Melody Sorenson, Josh McCray, Tyler Hahn, Ryan Brinkerhoff, Audrey Lewis, John Griffin, Erik Rahm, Lauren Tessmer, Nate Azark, Katherine Wright, David Zimmerman, Matt Hooper, Andy Schmidt, Tyler Deal, and Luke Howard.
In addition to the exhibit, there will be live music from Matt Engers of Dr Manhattan, Caley Conway, and King Courteen. The exhibit will be held at 133 W. Pittsbugh Ave in Walker's Point (near 88Nine Studios). Check out some of the posters via the Silk and Sound website.
