IMAGINARY CONCERTS
‍Printed Matter/Anthology Editions

I’ve contributed four poster concepts/lineups for Peter Coffin's book IMAGINARY CONCERTS, three of which you can see below.
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Co-published by Printed Matter and Anthology Editions and released on occasion of the LA Art Book Fair, IMAGINARY CONCERTS is a collaborative project organized by artist Peter Coffin.

Coffin began his work with the iconic designs of LA’s
Colby Poster Printing Company in 2008. Over the years,
he solicited friends to contribute their dream concerts —invented lineups for impossible gigs—and combined them with the print shop’s famously eye-popping poster backgrounds, resulting in IMAGINARY CONCERTS.

With contributions from and many others, the dream line-ups span across generations and musical genre to fulfill some individualized fantasy. The far-reaching mashups – sometimes whimsical or humorous – are also revealing of the profound impact that the concert experience has had for many. Accessing this musical history (even as a fabricated one) through the varied and expansive knowledge of the contributors gives us something that feels deeply personal, driven by nostalgia and remembrance as maybe music is uniquely suited to do.

The creation of IMAGINARY CONCERTS was preceded by Untitled (Designs for Colby Poster Co.), a lithograph print series which the artist initiated in 2008. The works are stripped altogether of the blocky letterpress text which would usually present specifics of the concert. The resulting prints are dreamy three-color gradients suggestive of LA’s smog-lined sunsets. A selection of these Untitled prints will be on view adjacent to the Printed Matter booth during the LA Art Book Fair.

The billings were giving to designer Adam Turnbull, who typeset the texts in the house style of the Colby Poster Printing Co., the LA-based print shop which famously churned out iconic “show print” posters for nearly 65 years before closing their doors in 2012.

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