Aaarght and Soul: The Gig Posters of Emek
Jan. 10-March 10, 2010
Opening reception with Emek: Jan. 21, 7 p.m.
Kempton Hall
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
147 N.W. 19th Ave.
Portland, OR
Acclaimed Portland poster artist Emek creates vibrant, visually stunning illustrations for concert posters that often combine religious iconography with passionate social commentary. "The thinking man’s poster artist," his silkscreen art does more than advertise a tribal gathering. It often reflects the tribe’s greatest challenges and hopes in the early 21st century -- peace, justice, technology, mortality, consumerism, the environment. Initially, the poster offered a commercially viable alternative to advertising for a young art school graduate — and later proved to be an opportunity for artistic freedom rarely allowed in other commercial work.
Emek first hand draws, then silkscreens multi-colored posters on paper, as well a experimenting with various mediums such as metal, glass and plastic, (he has even carved posters from stone!) for some of the music world’s brightest stars — from Pearl Jam to Ravi Shankar, B.B. King and Bright Eyes — in limited editions of around 300 copies often with complete creative license for their content. Emek’s work, including his protest posters and magazine illustrations, have received international praise. His rock posters have been displayed and archived at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. His first book, “Emek: The Thinking Man’s Poster Artist -- Collected Works of Aaarght!,” is set for release by Ginkgo Press.
Collected together in Kempton Hall is a retrospective of his rock ‘n' roll art worthy of reflection, meditation and revelation.
Framed and unframed copies of posters from 1996 through Spoon 2009 are for sale at the show.
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