Since the mid 1960's, the art of creating posters, flyers and handbills to promote concerts and events has become a tradition that is synonymous with our popular culture. From the psychedelic days of San Francisco , through the punk rock waves of the East and West coasts, to the grunge-era streets of Seattle and Austin , record store windows and staple-riddled telephone poles have provided the most direct, highly accessible means of communication. Even in the highly connected, easily accessible age of the internet, where personal computers allow endless possibilities for advertising and design, there's still nothing quite like the visceral impact of a hand-crafted concert poster.
Drawing upon a desire to move away from computers and cheap, quick methods of printing, there remains a growing community of artists dedicated to keeping the art and craft of poster-making alive and well. Through traditional printing and reproduction methods such as screen printing and letterpress, as well as more diverse methods like spray-painted stencils and cut paper, these artists go to elaborate and often painstaking lengths to translate their ideas to the flat surface. Long hours spent illustrating, hand-lettering and pulling squeegees constitutes something much more than simple advertising, it's a way of life - a means of creating a highly visible, useful public dialogue that is ultimately more satisfying than notoriety or financial gain.
The 23 artists and studios featured in this exhibit represent some of the most innovative and up-and-coming voices of contemporary poster art. The regional focus on Kentucky and surrounding areas in particular reveals a unique concentration of poster-makers who are all active participants in the current poster art movement, which has been gaining momentum globally since the beginning of the new millennium. "Hung & Unsung" is an attempt to bring to light this intriguing poster resurgence, and the various styles and methods employed by the artists who create them.
The Lexington Arts & Cultural Council would like to thank local poster artists Brian and Sara Turner of Cricket Press for there hard work in making this exhibit possible.