If youve ever spent the afternoon at Gig Posters, you know that the world of indie rock posters is thriving more than ever with eye-popping silk screens and busy prints that are at times more exciting than the events they push. Its an obsessive subculture, and one that gets the deserved documentary treatment with Eileen Yaghoobian's upcoming Died Young, Stayed Pretty.
According to the synopsis, it sounds pretty awesome:
Died Young, Stayed Pretty is a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America. This unique documentary examines the creative spirit that drives these indie graphic artists. They pick through the dregs of Americas schizophrenic culture and piece them back together. What you end up with is a caricature of the black and bloated heart that pulses greed through the US economy. The artists push further into the pulp to grab the attention of passersby, plastering art thats both vulgar and intensely visceral onto the gnarled surfaces of the urban landscape. The film gives us intimate look at some of the giants of this modern subculture. Outside of their own circle, theyre virtually unknown. But within their ranks they make up an army of bareknuckle brawlers, publicly arguing the aesthetic merits of octopus imagery and hairy 70s porn stars. Theyve created their own visual language for describing the spotty underbelly of western civilization and they're not shy about throwing it in the face of polite society. Along the way, they manage to create posters that are strikingly obscene, unflinchingly blasphemous and often quite beautiful. Yaghoobian shows these artists for what they are: the vivisectionists of Americas morbidly obese consumer culture.
Fortunately for Montreal, the film will be premiering at the upcoming Montreal Film Festival, which runs from August 21 to September 1.
Died Young, Stayed Pretty trailer
According to the synopsis, it sounds pretty awesome:
Died Young, Stayed Pretty is a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America. This unique documentary examines the creative spirit that drives these indie graphic artists. They pick through the dregs of Americas schizophrenic culture and piece them back together. What you end up with is a caricature of the black and bloated heart that pulses greed through the US economy. The artists push further into the pulp to grab the attention of passersby, plastering art thats both vulgar and intensely visceral onto the gnarled surfaces of the urban landscape. The film gives us intimate look at some of the giants of this modern subculture. Outside of their own circle, theyre virtually unknown. But within their ranks they make up an army of bareknuckle brawlers, publicly arguing the aesthetic merits of octopus imagery and hairy 70s porn stars. Theyve created their own visual language for describing the spotty underbelly of western civilization and they're not shy about throwing it in the face of polite society. Along the way, they manage to create posters that are strikingly obscene, unflinchingly blasphemous and often quite beautiful. Yaghoobian shows these artists for what they are: the vivisectionists of Americas morbidly obese consumer culture.
Fortunately for Montreal, the film will be premiering at the upcoming Montreal Film Festival, which runs from August 21 to September 1.
Died Young, Stayed Pretty trailer
