how do i explain to a new audience the beauty of screen printed gig posters?

[QPS]

I'm trying to establish a poster series for a commercial country artist that I manage. Rock audiences are accustomed to seeing posters at shows that border on fine art. Among acts with established poster series (The National, DMB, Raconteurs, The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, etc), fans do not hesitate to pay $30+ for something that they can take home and frame. Fans of these bands understand that the poster is a limited edition, usually for sale at the show only, and is signed and numbered by the artist. How do I educate fans that are NOT familiar with the medium that these are handmade, very labor intensive, etc? Thanks in advance for any help here!!

[crosshair]

Good question.

Chances are they are already well acquainted with the concept paying $25+ for a non-handmade, unlimited edition tshirt, cap, or other merch items. Paying that much for a poster isn't much of a leap.

I'm not sure it's really important to distinguish between these things in terms of fine art and not fine art. The poster medium in general derives much of its appeal from the fact that it is accessible to anyone, not just cultural elites, who like the looks of something and realizes they can afford it. By playing up the handmade, limited nature of a screenprint, you add the attraction of the owner's being part of a small group of people who have something rare and special, without spending the chunk of money one normally associates with fine art.

Chances are the fans of the artist you represent are NOT going to be into the sort of art that you often find associated with The Decembrists, The National, etc. The best thing you can do is have something made that the fans will relate to and identify with, and make sure it is over-the-top nice; has object appeal far surpassing that of conventional promo materials, without being precious. Choose poster artists carefully, and give them the resources (i.e., money and time) to make something great.

Bands that do particularly well with posters often put them up on their site and facebook page shortly prior to the show so fans can comment, get excited, etc. If it's a new thing for the artist you represent, this might afford a good opportunity to play up the handmade, limited nature of the poster, link to the designer, maybe even link to pics that show the thing being printed. Make a big deal about it.

[soupsandwich]

through expressive dance...?

[Josh Rickun]

if you are selling at the merch table, project a video of you begrudgingly printing each poster...really drag your legs whilst printing.

[ryan_1969]

i would find some good silkscreen posters and show them the quality in person. ...there are so many jpegs on the internet, and none of them do any justice to the work people do around here.

[lil_tuffy]

I'd hire me

[Lojack]

Full frontal works every time

[Work Of The Devil]

Make a good fucking poster....it will sell itself.

[ricv64]

trial and error chances

[JustinHelton]

Hey, I know we had discussed this before....but I thought of this. Maybe have your artist do a nice video that you spread through facebook, etc via the bands pages/outlets. Jack Daniels made one for the limited edition prints they did with Yee-Haw and i think its quite impressive to say the least.