David Welker: Bob Dylan Sept 4th Capitol Theatre Port Chester New York

David Welker: Bob Dylan Sept 4th Capitol Theatre Port Chester New York

To celebrate our first contest ever (now closed) on the blog, here is, for the first time, ladies and gentlemen, the first ever "poster interview" entirely focused on a single print. David Welker has been nice enough to open fire for us with his wonderful Bob Dylan poster printed by Ray McDermott in Boulder Colorado. Many thanks to him !

Hi ! Last time we "met" for the blog, you told me you would like to do something for Dr Dog, is still this a dream ?

I haven't had a chance to contact them yet and I'm not sure if my agency has either. It's been such a busy year. We are lucky just to keep up with the current workload. 

I have a short list of bands and artists that I'd love to work with in the coming year and Dr. Dog is still one of the ones at the top. I love their attitude and sense of humor. 

Well, for the moment, we are here to talk about your Bob Dylan poster, first of all some "technical" points :) Where and when did this show take place ?

The show was the grand reopening of the historic Capitol Theatre in Port Chester New York on September 4th. Pete Shapiro is the new owner of the theatre and he's become a huge force in the music industry. Some people liken him to a sort Bill Graham for our times. He wanted to start things off in a big way so he asked Dylan to play the inaugural performance. 

Are you, yourself, fan of Bob Dylan ?

I've listened to him in many of his incarnations since my childhood growing up in the late 60's and early 70's. I was always fascinated with his epic, narrative songs like "Simple Twist of Fate", "Tom Thumb's Blues", "Hurricane", "Black Diamond Bay", "Joey" ect. 

The storytelling pieces interested me more than his overtly political stuff even though there were always deep sociopolitical metaphors happening in almost everything he did. 

I dont think there is another songwriter who is able to lead the listener down a long narrative path in such a poetic way. 

Did he contacted you directly or was it a promoter or anyone else ?

The poster was commissioned by Pete Shapiro and the Capitols Theatre's media team. Apparently they spent a couple months negotiating with Dylan's team over the concept of a theatre produced, grand opening, limited edition poster. Dylan is not known for his poster art despite the success of the 2010 posters from Chuck Sperry and Ken Taylor. 

Did you have guidelines for this one or were you entirely free ?

I told everyone from the beginning that I didn't want to do another Dylan portrait poster. I submitted a pencil sketch with some hand drawn typography and this giant bird crashing into the ocean and the media team told me to run with it. It was approved and rejected about ten times over the course of a months time until we finally got the green light to start printing a week before the show.  

Where did this idea of the "oceanic scene" come from ? Does this have any relationship with a Dylan song ?

The bird crashing into the sea is a multiple metaphor for human folly. The bird seen as a dove is a symbol of peace and grace and he and the shark have been ensnared with the ties of a civilization itself in peril. I feel like Dylan has been painting these types of poetic archetypes for decades. I was listening to "Jokerman" during the entire sketching and inking process. That song is a masterpiece of encoded allegory and metaphor. It seems to automatically evoke subconscious iconography. 

The song is so visceral that it plays out like symbols visually leaping out from the music. 

The seeing eye at the top of the piece represents Dylan's ability to see beyond the false facades of humanity and the lighthouse is a direct reference to "All Along The Watchtower". 

I added the word "Positively" on a flowing scroll in the upper right of the sky as a trigger or conceptual escape from the turmoil of the imagery. It's also a reference to "Positively" 4th Street". 

The new album "Tempest" also has another epic number about the Titanic. Knowing this during the process I felt the imagery might have additional relevance to his current work. 

Is there any XIXth century illustration style inspiration in this poster ?

I've always looked to Nineteenth Century art as a source of inspiration, but I honestly don't have a specific reference for this illustration. 

How many prints did you make ?

The main edition is 150 with 30 Artists Proofs. 

Did you receive feedback from Dylan ?

When musicians graduate to becoming rock stars they almost always delegate art direction to one or more managerial entities. In Dylan's case he moved from musician to rock star to superstar to living legend decades ago, so I never expected direct feedback from him. 

From his fans ?

I received a lot of nice emails from Dylan fan's inquiring about the poster. 

From your fans  ?

The response was really nice. 

Have you already worked with Dylan before this one ?

This is my first poster for Dylan.

** Contest : Win an original David Welker's Dylan Poster **

** Contest : Win an original David Welker's Dylan Poster **

To celebrate 2 years of passion shared, here is the first contest ever on the blog !!! Spread the word !!!!

How to participate :

1. Be sure to like our fanpage on facebook :

2. Answer those 3 simple questions : :
                                       What were we listening to, last time we visited David Studio ?
                                       Name 3 bands David worked for

                                       How many good answers will we receive ?

3. Send your answers to the email adress at the top right of the blog with subject : Welker Contest

This is done, we will let you know shortly if you are a lucky winner !

David Welker (US)

David Welker (US)

First of all, I would like to make clear that the pictures illustrating this interview is just a small selection (according to my tastes) to the whole set David sent me, covering a far wide kind of styles and works. To have a better and complete view of his skills you should go directly to his websites, I think it is fair to set this clarification, as David's work definitly deserve more than just a quick look....

 

Hello, of course as every Crewk interview, first question: what are we
listening to when we come to visit you?

Sandpaper Blues by Joe Strummer

Can you tell us more about yourself, who are you, where are you from,what do you do?

My name is David Welker. I live and work in Soho, New York. I draw and paint and also make screen prints. 

My grandfather was a commercial screen printer in the midwest who also did hand drawn typography and even some World War II American propaganda posters. 

I spent many years experimenting with physical arts, music and intangible mediums before returning to focus primarily on visual art in 2009. 

With the help of an awesome production company and an indie label I'll also be releasing my first album later this year. 

When did you start drawing?

Apparently I drew a decent replica of Rogier Van Der Weyden's "Descent from the Cross" when I was six, although no actual physical evidence of this remains today. 

Did you follow any course or did you improve by drawing in the margins
of your schoolbooks?

I studied illustration, painting and beer shotgunning at Syracuse University. I have since retired from beer shotgunning. 

Today are you living from your art, or do you do something else for a living ?

My art has supported me for the last 20 years. I did some Rock & Roll related illustrations in the early 90's and then accidentally stepped into the world of private  mural commissions.  

Subsequently I spent the better part of a decade painting Chinoiserie murals in private residences for absurdly wealthy people. 

The money was good and I did some beautiful work but it did very little for my legacy as an artist. 

The only thing I took from that time was a tremendous amount of procedural knowledge and a lot of travel. 

Thankfully I retired from that racket and began illustrating again full time back in 2009. 

Where does your influence come from? Is there any artists/graphists
you particularly like, what are your influences?

Max Ernst, Francis Picabia and George Bellows were my 20th century heros. 

Now I'm fascinated by anything from tattoos to underground comix. 

What are the principal steps in your work ?

Put a kettle on. Make some tea. Try to start the physical process as soon as possible. Pencil to paper and lots of thumbnail sketches.  

To quote Chuck Close... "Inspiration is for amateurs". In other words, the best things happen when you're in motion, not just conceptualizing. 

Do you do everything by hand or on computer?

If I knew how to use the computer more I probably would. I draw everything by hand including my separations. 

How long does it take you to do a poster?

I like to have at least 2 weeks. 

You have a very distinctive style, are you doing only what you feel
like or if tomorrow somebody asks you an oil painting with horses
running out of water with a sunset backdrop, is it a problem or are
you up for it ?

As long as a client is not asking me to compromise my artistic vision then I'm open to a wide range of concepts. 

Fortunately at this stage of my career I'm afforded a great deal of artistic freedom. 

For which band have you already worked for?

Built To Spill, The Black Keys, The Decemberists, Primus, The Melvins, Justin Townes Earle, Mastodon, Phish, Swans, Mudhoney, Furthur, Talib Kweli, Soulive, and a bunch more.

For which band would you love to work?

Dr. Dog 

Do you choose the artists yourself?

Sometimes they choose me. That's always nice. 

What is the most difficult part in designing a poster ?

Trying to make it about the band and not about me. 

Do you think you are part of a "Graphic Scene", if so who else ?

I spent so many years being a part of no scene at all. 

I traveled around doing these private commissions for faceless billionaires. It was lonely. 

No matter how many of my pieces were published in Architectural Digest I never found a scene within that world to be a part of. I always felt out of place. 

It's been a nice discovery for me to realize that there is this active community of artists doing gig posters. 

There is a camaraderie that exists within the scene and it's really nice to be a part of it at this stage of my career. 

Right now I'm happy making concert posters and slowly developing my gallery repertoire . 

It's an awesome and highly expressive medium and it's still a novelty for me. I've only been doing it for 2 years now. I'm like the new old guy in the gig poster scene. 

Eventually I'd like to be a part of the pervasive low-brow or conceptual-realist gallery movement, if they will let me in. 

Poster art is still considered too low brow for even the low brow galleries so anyone who spends any significant amount of time making posters and doing typography has to consider this.

Jermaine Rogers recently said that the gig poster is one of the purest pieces of modern folk art that we have today. He's right, and the gallery world needs to realize this and celebrate this modern folk art. Fortunately there is a new breed of gallery and invitational pop up show that centers around editions and modern pop art themes. 

This has offered the general public and collecting community a lot of new and exciting alternatives to the austere and often pretentious gallery world. 

I'd like to transition to being a full time gallery artist but I think this needs to be a very conscious and concerted effort. 

Everything is a progression. Life is beautiful and I'm very happy to be where I am. 

A bit of self-promotion, take advantage of it, it's free, where can we

see your work , on the web or in real life?

http://www.davidwelker.com 

http://www.gigposters.com/designer/121817_David_Welker.html

http://expressobeans.com/public/search.php?text=welker&class=0

The best praise you received lately?

My anchovy pasta gets a lot of praise.  

What can we wish you for the future?

I could use a new flat file.