About this poster

"Following in the tradition of the last few years, I created an art print of the image used on the SXSW poster. This print was created in the same screens as the Emo's print, similar to the process used in last years 'Monkey Hustle Rock and Roll' and 2005's 'Polluted Culture' prints.

I've discussed it before, but there's something about the phenomenon of pop culture celebrity that amazes me. For instance, it's both irritating and fascinating to me that 'real' international news stories (and sometimes important local news stories) play second-fiddle to the latest reports about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's latest adoption adventure, Brittney's spiraling out of control, and who gets Anna Nicole's rich baby. And yet, I guess I'm part of the problem, because I relish the opportunity to turn these stories in upon themselves for the sake of artistically satisfying myself. Warhol called celebrities the new 'myths'. I agree. These are real people, but we adopt them as OURS, and use them and their imagery for our all around enjoyment...much in the same way the artists of the Middle Ages used myths, historical figures, Jesus, etc. for their own personal agendas.

What I find intoxicating right now is the act of blurring the lines between these figures. We tend to build atmospheres around these figures and we socially teach each other to stick with these assigned atmospheres. Hendrix = weird and tragic. Jerry Garcia = trippy and psychedelic. Sid Vicious = druggy and reckless. You get the point. And while it's fun to play with these accepted atmospheres, I'd like to go further and blur, twist, and totally flip these ideas. The juxtaposition of opposing ideas is what turns me on. John and Paul as old-school B-Boys? Yea, it's funny on a certain level...but one could read a lot more into it if they wanted to. Is there a thread between hip-hop culture and Lennon and McCartney? You bet there is...at least in my opinion. And, in this exercise at least, my opinion (as the creator of the art) is all that matters. Culture is MINE...so I can twist it and make it anything I want. Culture is YOURS. In your artwork, writing, music, ideas, etc. all that matters is YOUR opinion...because culture belongs to you. Screw with it. Forget 'reality'. There's very little that's truly 'real', anyways." - JR

Art print featuring similar design as the SXSW @ Emo's 07 poster.