Let’s take a flannel-filled trip to the early ‘90s. A resplendent moment in time filled with Doc Martens, the invention of the Walkman and the inception of the internet, the release of Pearl Jam’s second album, Vs., and, yes, hallelujah, the third incarnation of Perry Farrell’s travelling music festival, the legendary LOLLAPALOOZA. Arguably one of the very best Lollapalooza line-ups ever, according to both Jim Evans and SPIN Magazine, the 1993 concert included such 1990’s phenom headliners as Dinosaur Jr., Alice in Chains, Primus, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Front 242, and Arrested Development.
TAZ, working with Farrell, Marc Geiger (Lollapalooza co-founder, current head of William Morris Endeavor’s music division and agent for the likes of David Byrne, Lady Gaga, and Jack White, among so many others) and Goldenvoice, created the 1993 concert’s posters and art.
TAZ not only created the poster (shown below), but also a series of giant cartoon panels as part of a traveling art show (shown below)– a comic story titled “Hot Rod to Hell,” it conveyed the concept of Lollapalooza via graphics: “Crazy kids living to a wild rock and roll beat” and “A circus with a scent of evil.” In a recent interview with Primus guitarist Larry LaLonde in Alternative Nation, he aptly and succinctly describes the Lollapalooza 1993: “It was just a crazy atmosphere—Lollapalooza was kind of a new thing then . . . It was really like a traveling circus.”
L’Imagerie Gallery, based in North Hollywood, had put together a TAZ booth displaying and selling some of the TAZ music posters to date – including Helmet, Porno for Pyros, and Superchunk, as well as the 40th poster TAZ produced, the 1993 Lollapalooza poster. The L’Imagerie TAZ booth was manned by (at that time) upcoming and relatively unknown poster artist EMEK, now a close friend of Jim Evans’s and a massively successful and celebrated artist EMEK, wearing a blue polo shirt and shades, can be seen smirking in the booth’s background.
Since these halcyon days of 1993, EMEK has become known as “the thinking man’s poster artist,” creating posters for the Beastie Boys, B.B. King, Neil Young, Pearl Jam, and so many other alternative and punk musicians, and, in 2007, had his work listed among Billboard’s top 25 rock posters of all time.
December 9, 2014
November 24, 2014
The Story of SAW and TAZ
The SAW and TAZ adventure is one that goes a decade deep.
For this famously gruesome horror film, Jim Evans/TAZ brought the iconic, devilishly cruel clown puppet to life in his chilling poster interpretation for the film’s initial release back in 2004. From that day onward, this familiar, rather terrifying image of the SAW clown became enmeshed in pop culture – emblazoned across t-shirts, hoodies, tanks, and, of course, posters.
Working with Lionsgate Films’ ….. read more
Jim Evans, founder of the T.A.Z. collaboration, which created hundreds of rock gig posters, record sleeves, and rock ephemera, has been working on new posters including his recent double sided Limited Edition signed and numbered T.A.Z. Pearl Jam poster.
But Jim and T.A.Z. have been working behind the scenes creating unique posters for a number of film studios. Here are a few that stand out:
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have always been a cool comic myth, and represent the kind of characters that an artist loves to have a chance at interpreting. When Paramount called and told me about their idea for the Legend of the Yokai, I got pretty excited. They wanted a number of different artists to visualize one of the more nobel aspects of the Turtles. I choose brotherhood, and took the opportunity to pay homage to my favorite pop poster artist Tadanori Yokoo with a wild psychedelic design.
Saw
Lionsgate 10th anniversary release of the film Saw as designed by T.A.Z. If you like Saw or if you’re a fan of horror films, try these
T.A.Z. works with Beck and L7
T.A.Z. has worked with many great artist including Beck and L7.
Click here to see the complete collection of T.A.Z. work
Continue to follow this blog for updates on TAZ.
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