In Drymount! and Print Tease I’ve looked at artists and bands who have had long productive relationships. Pearl Jam and Ames Bros. have been working together for over 10 years; Rob Jones shapes the White Stripe’s image almost as much as Jack White does. Another really fruitful combination has been indie-favorite The Arcade Fire and Minneapolis printing outfit Burlesque of North America.
There were a lot of Print Tease worthy prints released this week, including some choice prints from Emek, Jermaine, Jay Ryan and others. But I went with this latest Arcade Fire print to show once again how an artist can shape a bands larger identity.
The Arcade Fire were everywhere last year. They released Neon Bible to wide acclaim, and they toured incessantly. At most of those tour dates they had an awesome Burlesque designed poster at the merch table.
Last year Wes Winship took over the primary design duties for the Arcade Fire posters, and he put out some beautiful pieces. This poster for last weekend’s Obama benefit with Superchunk picks up where the others left off. Visually Wes has tied back to the most recent posters for Arcade Fire’s European tour, which all feature a blue and red motif with towers. The red and blue fit seamlessly into a patriotic color scheme, but he has tailored the European imagery with something more befitting a concert in support of Senator Barack Obama.
For centuries, light houses have been a beacon of hope for sailors on dark and stormy seas. It is a pretty apt metaphor for Obama’s message of hope for a country mired in a seemingly endless war, with gas prices sky rocketing and the economy tumbling. Obama supporters hope that he will show us the way toward steady ground.
