Heads Up: Spoke Art's "Vertigo" Movie Posters

I'm not sure how long it'll be before these sell out, so I'll make this quick. Spoke Art has released not one, but two Vertigo prints in cooperation with the historic Castro Theatre. And who do you get to tackle such an iconic Bay Area film? Well, San Francisco-based artist Chuck Sperry might be a good start! After all, who better to capture that City by the Bay vibe than someone who's lived and worked in the area for so long? But who else, who else? Oh, yeah! How about Polish poster-obsessed Sam Smith, whose ability to abstractly depict the psychological battlefield that is Vertigo may only be bested by the likes of Andrzej Krajewski and Franciszek Starowieyski?! In all seriousness, these are two great looking screen prints and are sure to please the Hitchcock fan in your life.

Vertigo Movie Poster
Chuck Sperry
18" x 24" (Screen Print) - Signed and Numbered
$50 Single / $80 Matching Set - Limited to 200

Vertigo Movie Poster
Sam Smith
18" x 24" (Screen Print) - Signed and Numbered
$40 Single / $80 Matching Set - Limited to 100

Both posters are currently available through Spoke Art's online storefront for $40 (Smith's take) and $50 (Sperry's take). If you feel the need to own both of them, and really, why wouldn't you, you can buy a matching set for only $80 and save some money along the way. To learn more about the Spoke Art gallery, head over to spoke-art.com and follow them on Twitter @spoke_art. For more info on Sam Smith, visit samsmyth.blogspot.com and follow @samsmyth. And finally, for the full scoop on Chuck Sperry, check out chucksperry.net and follow @yosquirt.

Heads Up: New Flesh's "Notorious" Movie Poster

I rewatched Charade, also known as the best Alfred Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never directed, the other day and was reminded of just how amazing / charming Cary Grant could be. Which got me thinking: I've already seen Grant in a Hitchcock-free Hitchcockian tale, why on Earth haven't I revisited the Cary Grant films that were actually directed by the Master of Suspense!? I'm talking Suspicion, To Catch a Thief, North by Northwest, and of course Notorious. Leave it to the gents at New Flesh Prints to remind me just how badly I need to see the Bergman-Grant-Hitchcock collaboration, as it's probably been a good ten years since my last viewing.

Notorious Movie Poster
N.E. (New Flesh Prints)
18" x 24" (Screen Print) - Signed and Numbered
Limited to 80

I've included the clip that inspired the poster below for your viewing pleasure. I think you'll find that N.E. really captured the scene's tension with his monochromatic design.

Makes you want to watch the film, doesn't it? Beyond some clearly exceptional artwork, N.E. was also generous enough to explain his motivations in creating the poster:

"The approach to Notorious is slightly different from the other Hitchcock prints New Flesh has done in the past. While all of the prints have been an interpretation of Hitchcock's cinematic grammar and have included matching billing blocks; this print is more of a literal visual representation of the film. The contradictory image of the key and the oversized wedding ring was too powerful to pass up. The use of tight closeups in this film are about as perfect as has ever been done and the silver quality in the B&W cinematography demanded use of metallic inks. Although less colorful and abstract than the other Hitchcock prints I feel like it represents the emotional core of the film."

New Flesh's Notorious poster will be going on sale tomorrow (8/2) through their online storefront at 10:30 AM Central. The poster measures 18" x 24", is limited to an edition of 80, and will probably cost somewhere around the $30 mark. If you haven't already, be sure to visit newfleshprints.com and subscribe to their newsletter. You can also follow the New Flesh folks on Twitter @newfleshprints and @nenewflesh.

Gallery 1988's "Suspense & Gallows Humor" Art Show

I was really tempted to queue up for Gallery 1988's "Suspense & Gallows Humor" show a few Fridays ago (4/13), so much so, that I told several co-workers I was DEFINITELY going. Alas, I got talked into seeing The Cabin in the Woods with some friends (seriously, go watch this movie folks - it's amazing) and missed out on what looked to be an incredible opening night. What could be better than a room full of artwork inspired by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock? Not much. I've since made the trek to Venice and it was glorious. If, like me, you didn't (or couldn't) make it to the show, but still wanted to pick up some beautiful Hitchcockian artwork, I've created today's post as a guide or rather a list of my top five suggestions on what to buy. Note: As of this writing all of the prints listed below are still available for purchase, meaning I'm not able to pimp Ghoulish Gary Pullin's amazing (but already sold out) Psycho inspired poster, except that I kind of already did by mentioning it just now, didn't I? Weird. Enjoy!

“Where's Alfred Hitchcock?” Art Print
Derek Eads
18" x 30" - Numbered
$45 - Limited to 50

Alfred Hitchcock, or as I like to think of him, the director who photo-bombed his own work way before it was cool or recognized as a meme (like way, way, way before), was certainly no stranger to the cameo. Alright, I guess he wasn't technically "photo-bombing," since that term usually implies some sort of negative effect (often of the hilarious variety) on the photo in question and the suggestion of spontaneity, but there's no denying he enjoyed popping up in his own cinematic creations. Taking full advantage of this fact, artist Derek Eads exquisitely illustrated many of Alfred's appearances in an appropriately classy black and white. I can't imagine these will be around for too much longer, so my advice would be to act fast and pick one up now. Derek Eads' "Where's Alfred Hitchcock?" print is currently available through Gallery 1988's online storefront for $45. The three-color screenprint measures 18" x 30 and is limited to an edition of 50. To learn more about artist Derek Eads, be sure to visit his Tumblr page and follow him on Twitter @Derek_Eads. And for those of you who are interested in learning more about Hitchcock's cameos, there's a fairly comprehensive list with pictures at hitchcock.tv.

“Oh God, Mother! Blood! Blood!” Art Print
Joshua Budich
24" x 36" - Signed and Numbered
$50 - Limited to 100
Inspired By: Psycho

If you've visited Posterocalypse in the last week, month, or year, then you'll already know I really dig this Joshua Budich fellow. His tightly constructed assemblage of illustrations plays like a cinematic "Best Of" and shares many similarities with the picturesque work of Martin Ansin, Grzegorz Domaradzki and Tyler Stout. Joshua's "Oh God, Mother! Blood! Blood!" provides a truly terrifying and visceral take on Hitchcock's Psycho, and much like his recent "Brutally Cool" print, uses a few strategically placed splashes of color to highlight the story's violence and dysfunction. Budich's "Oh God, Mother! Blood! Blood!" poster is currently available for $50. The print measures 24" x 36", is signed and numbered, and is limited to an edition of 100. If you'd like to read more about Joshua, head over to joshuabudich.com and follow him on Twitter @jbudich.

“Blood Stained Blues” Art Print
Mayra Fersner
12.5" x 19" - Signed and Numbered
$25 - Limited to 25
Inspired By: Stage Fright

Mayra Fersner is an artist that I've been consistently in awe of since first discovering (and then immediately purchasing) her Network print from the Kingdom of Nonsense curated Sidney Lumet tribute show. Her prints are often dark in theme and feel right at home in Hitchcock's wicked world of paranoia and double-crossings, two elements that have played a large part in the master director's filmography. Mayra's "Blood Stained Blues" Stage Fright poster celebrates one of Hitchcock's lesser known works (that clicking noise you heard was me adding the film to my Netflix queue), and successfully manages to evoke the fear and lunacy that to go hand-in-hand with Hitch's penchant for intricately plotted murder mysteries. Here's what Mayra had to say about the poster (taken from her blog):

"I have been really excited and looking forward to sharing the print I designed for this show. I wanted to base my design on one of his more obscure films. Due to the fact that I am a huge Marlene Dietrich fan, I knew I wanted to pick Stage Fright."

Mayra Fersner's "Blood Stained Blues" poster is currently available through Gallery 1988 for $25. The movie print measures 12.6" x 19" and is limited to an edition of 25. To see more of Mayra's work, head over to hagcult.com and follow her @HagCult.

"We're All Born Accompanists" Art Print
Alex Todaro
18" x 24" - Signed and Numbered
$40 - Limited to 51
Inspired By: Lifeboat

Alex Todaro's "We're All Born Accompanists" is easily the most abstract poster in this selection of striking artwork, and that's one of the things that really attracted me to it. To be fair, I'm also head over heels for its kaleidoscopic interpretation of the sea. And I'm incredibly impressed with its surprisingly diverse monochromatic palette, which goes a long way in capturing the film's spectacular black and white photography. Alex Todaro's "We're All Born Accompanists" print is available through Gallery 1988's online storefront for $40. The screen print measures 18" x 24", is signed and numbered, and is limited to an edition of 51. To check out more of Alex's artwork, head over to alextodaro.com and follow him on Twitter @__Todaro.

“Presents” Art Print
Jessica Deahl
12" x 18" - Signed and Numbered
$30 - Limited to 60

I'm not completely sure what it is about Jessica Deahl's "Presents" print, but it just works for me. On second thought, maybe this poster is the most abstract of the bunch. If I had to try and assign meaning to it, I'd guess that the massive swirly hair ball represents Hitchcock's mind and the red ink that's shaped like a bloody mass of his iconic creations represents his imagination. That sounds good, right? Or maybe it's just a reference to his television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Or both? Who knows? One thing I do know, is that the nice thing about writing your own blog is you don't need to try and assign meaning to everything, so I'm just going to go with: I really, really like this poster and I hope you do too. Deahl's "Presents" print is currently available for a super low $30 through Gallery 1988's website. The poster measures 12" x 18" and is limited to an edition of 60. To learn more about the artist, visit jessicadeahl.com.

That's it folks! Thanks for your time and goodnight...or good morning.

New Flesh's "Birds" and "Rear Window" Movie Posters

It's been a really impressive few months for New Flesh in my estimation. The Austin-based design studio, screen printing house and organizer of guerrilla movie screenings, has already built up an exceptional body of work and and is showing no signs of slowing down. Working in collaboration with the Blue Starlite Drive-in, New Flesh has created two beautiful posters in tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and Rear Window.

The Birds Movie Poster - N.E.
18" x 24" - Signed and Numbered
$25 - Limited to 50

I've loved everything New Flesh has released so far, but I think it's safe to say that they've reached new heights with the double feature Hitchcock prints. N.E.'s Birds poster features detail aplenty with its intricately shaped Bodega Bay topography, comprised of what looks to be some pretty intense cross hatching and shadowing. But as is usually the case, it's the little things that really tend to drive me wild (in a good way, of course) when it comes to movie artwork. I'm talking about the bird-lined power lines. I didn't immediately catch it when I first saw the poster, partially because it's so minute and there's so many other things to look at, but the fact that it's there totally ups my appreciation of this wonderful print. This is also something I'll be repeating later in the post, but I love the color palette N.E. decided on - it really captures that by-the-bay backdrop.

Artist N.E. from New Flesh was nice enough to provide some insight on what he was trying to accomplish with his Birds design:

"I wanted to do something that I had not seen before for either one of the movies. I knew I wanted to make something for The Birds that recalled the travel posters from the 50's and 60's. I like the idea of having the birds be a subtle element of the poster that surfaces when you look closely at the image."

The Birds poster will be available through the New Flesh store on Monday (1/16) at 10:30 AM CST. The poster measures 18" x 24", is limited to an edition of 50 and will cost $25. To learn more about New Flesh and artist N.E., be sure to follow them @newfleshprints, visit their website, and check out their store.

Rear Window Movie Poster - N.E.
18" x 24" - Signed and Numbered
$25 - Limited to 50

Out of the two Hitchcock prints, I think this may be my favorite. N.E.'s poster marks a pretty thrilling scene in Rear Window when the wheelchair-bound Jeff (James Stewart) uses a camera's flash to temporary blind the home-invading Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr). And in my opinion, this heart-pounding moment comes through spectacularly unscathed due to the artist's use of feverish color and a more stark, but dynamic, design - both elements running somewhat contrary to what was done with The Birds print. The success of N.E.'s color choice is two-fold, really: not only do they reflect what someone might see in the aftermath of a bulb's flash, but they're also spot on with what are widely considered Hitchcock's "warning colors" - yellow, orange and red. I'm really excited to see New Flesh consistently raise the stakes and will definitely be making a poster purchase come Monday (1/16).

Artist N.E. from New Flesh on his Rear Window poster design, and some Star Wars related trivia I had absolutely zero knowledge of:

"For Rear Window the options are always slightly limited, just because it's about a man in his room confined to a wheelchair with a telephoto lens. I love how Hitchcock uses effects to simulate point of view. In Vertigo it was the push / pull camera trick. In Rear Window it was the blinding light that was simulated when Raymond Burr confronts James Stewart. That image has been "burned" in my head (pun intended) since I first saw the film. The red / orange / yellow color scheme came from this camera flash. (Side note: the camera flash that James Stewart used in Rear Window was the main part they used for making the hilts for lightsabers in Star Wars. So technically James Stewart uses a lightsaber to defend himself in the movie. Or you could say Darth Vader uses a camera flash in Star Wars.)"

N.E. on the poster set as a whole:

"For the Hitchcock posters it was important that they were similar enough that they could be in a set and potentially a series. I also wanted the technique and the color to be completely different or opposite from the each other. This is where the blue green / dark blue / blue for The Birds came from. Both posters are very impressionistic compared to most of my other posters. The goal was to convey mood or a feeling more then just illustrate an image from the movie."

Much like The Birds print, N.E.'s Rear Window poster will be available through the New Flesh store on Monday at 10:30 AM CST. The print measures 18" x 24", will cost $25 and is limited to an edition of 50. To learn more about New Flesh, be sure to follow them on Twitter @newfleshprints, visit their website, and check out their store.

Von's Movie-Themed Prints

I'd never even heard of Von until about a month ago, but after perusing his amazing prints and sketches, it became painfully clear that I had to share the good news. The man has a ton of work available through his website, but the following movie-related prints were, no surprise, my favorites.

Teen Wolf Close-up

Teen Wolf Close-up

Teen Wolf Movie Poster
Von
A3 (11.7" × 16.5")
A2 (16.5" × 23.4")
£35 (A3) / £60 (A2) - Limited to 75 per size

One of these things is not like the others. I absolutely love that the same person who created such jaw-dropping portraits of Martin Scorsese, Hunter S. Thompson, and Alfred Hitchcock (see below), could create a poster for the 1985 Michael J. Fox werewolf comedy (that's a genre, right?) Teen Wolf. And while I'm not a huge fan of the film (honestly, I don't really remember it that well), I'm a huge fan of what Von has done here - combining fine art with pop art. This print, like many others included in this post, is available in two different sizes, A3 (11.7" x 16.5") and A2 (16.5" x 23.4"), both with an edition size of 75. The A3-sized print is currently available through Von's storefront for £35 (approximately $55) and the A2 is available for £60 (around $95). Need something unique for the Teen Wolf fan in your life? I think you may have just found it.

"Scorsese" Close-up

"Scorsese" Close-up

"Scorsese" Art Print
Von
A3 (11.7" × 16.5")
A2 (16.5" × 23.4")
£35 (A3) / £60 (A2) - Limited to 75 per size

Show me a film lover that doesn't instantly adore this print and I'll show you someone who either doesn't really love film or is not a fan of Martin Scorsese (i.e., not a film lover). Von seems to be a master at creating incredibly realistic portraits, but in painting or sketching them, also seems to bring in a bit of the surreal. He also seems to be very interested in the way light plays with his subject's features - that's a nod to that whole realism thing I was talking about earlier. This is probably the least playful of his cinema-centric prints, but that doesn't take anything away from its beauty. The "Scorsese" art print is currently available through Von's website for £35 ($55 give or take) in the A3 size or £60 ($95 más o menos) for the A2 sized print. Both sizes are limited to an edition of 75.

"Hunter S Thompson" Close-up

"Hunter S Thompson" Close-up

"Hunter S Thompson" Art Print
Von
19.6" x 15.7"
£45 - Limited to 60

I love, love, love these last two images. They're portraits, but they also tell a story. Von's "Hunter S Thompson" print features a man in the midst of a desert fever dream brought on by copious amounts of illicit narcotics. Hunter's portrait appears to be made of smoke trails and hazy edges, making him almost ethereal, although I think my favorite touch may be "The Great Red Shark." If you've seen the film or read the book you already know what I'm talking about, right? Yep, it's the red convertible (next to the cactus). It's one of those elements that an artist puts in and is not immediately noticeable from a distance, but once it's been spotted, you couldn't imagine the picture without it. To be honest, with the ravenous cult following both the book and the film have, I'm surprised this print is even still available. The "Hunter S Thompson" poster measures 19.6" x 15.7", is limited to an edition of 60 and costs £45 (about $71), but most importantly, it's available now at shopvon.com!

"Alfred" Close-up

"Alfred" Close-up

"Alfred" Art Print
Von
A3 (11.7" × 16.5")
A2 (16.5" × 23.4")
£45 (A3) / £90 (A2) - Limited to 60 per size

I'm not sure which print I like better, this Hitchcockian masterpiece or the drug-addled Thompson portrait, but I know a good thing when I see it. The "Alfred" art print is downright mesmerizing. This is surely one of those images that needs to be seen in person to be believed, because the detail is just so damn insane (look at those birds). I really dig this artwork for the same reason I love Von's "Hunter S Thompson;" it's more than just a portrait, there are elements at play, or more accurately at flight, that speak to the cultural mark Hitchcock left, and Von has again masterfully mixed the photorealistic with the beautifully surreal. Von's "Alfred" print is available in two sizes, A3 and A2, and costs £45 and £90 respectively. Both prints can be purchased through shopvon.com and are limited to 60 per edition.

To keep up with all of Von's upcoming prints and originals I recommending heading over to his website and signing up for the mailing list immediately. Oh yeah, and don't forget to follow him @ShopVon. Good night!