How do they do it? The tribute poster wizards at the Mondo Gallery seem to have a special gift for condensing the strangeness, beauty and excitement of iconic movies into graphics that capture their essence – and become works of art in their own right (see above).
Poster geeks looking for answers can glimpse a behind-the-scenes peek at the creative process at Mondo in the new aptly titled exhibition In Progress, which opened last weekend and tuns through February 23 at the Mondo Gallery in Austin, Texas. The show features mind-melting sketches, concepts and line art prepped by design auteurs including Martin Ansin, Ken Taylor, Kevin Tong, Jay Shaw and Tom Whalen en route to final products celebrating Creature From the Black Lagoon, Planet of the Apes, Pan's Labyrinth, Iron Giant and other cult classics.
The Mondo brand encompasses a gamut of styles ranging from Olly Moss' stark minimalism to Tyler Stout's busting-out-all-over face-and-figure explosions. Still, the gallery boasts a unifying aesthetic. Texas rock poster artist Rob Jones, who serves as Mondo co-creative director with Justin Ishmael and Mitch Putnam, told Wired, "I guess the 'filter' that ties everything together would be the three of us that comprise the creative side of Mondo. We have similar and at the same time wildly divergent tastes. Getting artists and posters that the triumverate can all get behind despite our differences and proudly present under the Mondo banner unites the artwork in a way."
Mondo's high energy aesthetic can be traced to its roots in Austin's "gig poster" scene. The DIY movement peaked in the 1990s when rock bands collaborated with artisans to produce surreal surreal graphics that hyped club dates and doubled as fan merch.
Eight years ago, Jones coaxed his pals to shift focus from music to cult movies for a road show organized by Mondo parent company Alamo Drafthouse. Offerings included Repo Man, Escape From Alcatraz and Planet of the Apes. Ishmael recalls, "They sold them at screenings, hit the Internet, and it just grew from that road show tour idea in 2005 to what it is now."
Mondo gained serious geek cred by securing rights in 2010 from the famously picky LucasFilms to produce tribute posters re-interpreting the Star Wars saga. To cement its reputation as a high-end re-interpreter of movie iconography, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences last year added Mondo's ongoing poster series to its permanent Beverly Hills archive of memorabilia.
A triumph of nerdy attention to detail, Mondo's stable of visual talents fuse fanboy enthusiasm with sophisticated illustration skills to embed iconic collective memories with uncommon graphic punch. Summing up Mondo's curatorial process, Jones, says "For movie posters we want imagery that would serve as authentic promotional material, something that piques the interest without necessarily giving away the whole film."
For an exclusive first look at In Progress sketches and artist commentary, check out the gallery below:
Images and artist statements courtesy Mondo
