Artist Chuck Sperry lives in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where he’s made his particular style of rock poster designs for over 20 years. He operates Hangar 18, a silkscreen print studio, located in Oakland, Calif.
Sperry has created Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros gigposters for shows in Berkeley, Hollywood, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as the Railroad Revival Tour. In his blog, Sperry discussed the inspiration behind those posters.
Berkeley | September 2012
Yesterday was fantastic. I finished my poster for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros earlier in the week, with the heroic help of Lulu Erhardt. And I have to say this is up there with my best printing. Dropped off the posters with Edward Sharpe’s man Ryan, and he loved them.
Tickets were waiting at will-call, and the Greek Theatre was just the best place to hear the uplifting Edward Sharpe. I saw the show with our tireless webmaster and all-around computer genius, Nick Cernak. Nick and I sat in the grass with an amazing view of the Bay, rocking out and rapping about our future plans.
Hollywood Bowl | August 2013
I just got back from hand delivering the posters for Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros’ homecoming show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The beauty of hand delivery is that I got to see the show. I took visiting Argentine artist Alan Berry Rhys and his girlfriend Emilia Carranza with me to the show. We had a blast and what an excellent show! Sun Ra Arkestra opened and also came out on stage with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros for an amazing encore with no less than 25 people on stage (at least).
I created my poster with an intricate and elegant arrangement of flowers, printing a very heavy metallic silver on black linen paper, and delicately tinting the silver with translucent colors. The details are very fine and the registration was exceptionally difficult, but the result made me very happy! I wanted to express the ensemble nature of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (and Sun Ra Arkestra – for that matter) where there is no compositional center but all the intricate parts naturally combine to make art that is beautiful – like a bouquet of luminous flowers. It’s an expression of the idea of participatory democracy, a political notion and a musical theory, evident in the musical structure of Edward Sharpe and the Magentic Zeros and Sun Ra Arkestra. But then again, it’s only rock and roll and I like it!
San Francisco | September 2013
Back in the saddle, and happy to be back printing and feeling in top form with my newest Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros poster. ESMZ played the America’s Cup Pavilion in San Francisco tonight and it was a beautiful night under the moonlight, with Coit Tower shining down on everyone from the top of Telegraph Hill. The band was in good form tonight, and getting ready for their huge new pet project – “Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Big Top” which is coming up on October 17 through 20.
My ESMZ poster is inspired by Amphitrite, ancient goddess of the sea, a sailor’s goddess, paying homage to the America’s Cup and the concert setting right on The Bay at Pier 29. I realized my Edward Sharpe poster with 7 painterly layers of ink, intricate textures, and waves of heavy metallic silver and thick gold foam, suggestive of the sea but also implying waves of music washing across the listener. I worked very intensively for two consecutive print sessions to complete this one; I’m very, very happy with the resulting print! This one sold out before Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros took the stage.
Big Top | October 2013
This past month, I’ve been working closely with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros to produce two very special posters for their amazing “Big Top” event at the Los Angeles State Historic Park this coming weekend, October 17, 18, 19, and 20. What a lovely crew of people!
As the project developed, I realized that there was a lot of cooperation going on. Strange, in this ego-fueled world of rock n’ roll. I started to notice, hmm, spectacular lack of ego politics with ESMZ. This Big Top, cool as hell circus event, with bands, performers, artists and even a farmers’ market, was being organized in a very open-ended way. Sure, there are big sponsors and production companies involved. It’s a professional concert. But as discussion evolved over the project, everyone started chiming in. And everyone in this crew was so respectful and endlessly supportive.
Working like this felt like the new way to organize society and social relationships, but saying that, I don’t want to make such a big deal out of it. Isn’t this how we should treat each other anyway: normally, decently, and with a patient capacity to listen?
While working on this project, there was a lot of discussion between me, band members, management, and event organizers. I’ve had experience with working in large groups to create art, and I have to admit it can easily turn into a “too many cooks” situation. That said, I’ll be damned, the creative environment around this group of people is unique, open and ridiculously easy. When you see ESMZ, this large band creating amazing music, sharing the stage, letting everyone in the band, and in the audience INTO the process, well, working with them was just as easy and cool and beautiful as that. Word!
This grand generous spirit will abide this weekend at the Big Top, I’m sure of it, and I believe everyone is going to have the most memorable and fantastic time at this rare multi-dimentional event!
I started with the program poster and created a psychedelic circus master; and then for my silkscreen poster, I enlarged on the fantastical circus tent over the circus master’s left shoulder. There is our utopian Big Top, our new community, high on a lofty mountain, a kind of Shangra-La of imaginary delights. I could have drawn the tent bigger. I could have focused on that. I thought to do that. Believe me this will be one Big Tent event, in every meaning of the words. Instead, I put our Big Top tent high on an impossible hill, where the eagles dare, and where once you go inside, you may find your guru, wise man, best friend forever, your never-never, your inner child, your outer chill, your upper register, your underground, your overstanding, your best self.
Source: chucksperry.net