Have you ever beheld the art of Tara McPherson? If not, you’re missing out. Tara is an American artist, dubbed “the crown princess of poster art” by Elle magazine. She’s done utterly memorable band posters for Beck, Modest Mouse, and The Melvins, among many others. Her work is eerie yet attractive, impossibly pretty and subtly grotesque, and pinkish and bluish — it all seems to take place on a distant dreamlike planet, mesmerizing and foreboding all at once.
Tara has exhibited her paintings and serigraphs in art galleries all over the world. She has created toys with companies like Kidrobot, Dark Horse and Toy2R, painted comics and covers for Vertigo Comics, done advertising and editorial illustrations for clients like Wyden+Kennedy and Spin magazine, and teaches a class at Parsons in NYC.
Her art has been featured in books such as Lost Constellations: The Art of Tara McPherson Vol. II (Dark Horse), Lonely Heart: The Art of Tara McPherson (Dark Horse), Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (DC), The Art of Modern Rock (Chronicle), and many more. As both an avid comics and music geek, I’ve been well aware of her work, and have admired its uniquely alluring qualities. It has a strange music all its own, and hints at stories untold yet deeply felt.
During the Young Star re-launch party at The Collective last April, one of the more pleasant parts of that night for me was getting to explore a gallery/shop called Vinyl on Vinyl: a place of cool designer vinyl toys and fantastic posters and prints. Gaby dela Merced, one of the proprietors, showed us around, and answered my silly questions about the toys and the art with patience and passion and extensive knowledge. (It was only much later after this meeting, by the way, that I realized that the lively lovely storeowner I had been talking to is also the famous racecar driver.)
At one point, Gaby went backstage, as it were, and took out a bunch of prints that were not on display yet, and laid them out on the floor for us to swoon over. Among them were works by Tara McPherson — and let me tell you, it was mind-blowing enough for me to think that I was looking at those, as opposed to the usual reduced-size reprints in books.
So you can imagine my excitement when I learned that they’re bringing Tara herself here!
This Saturday, Aug. 7, 9 p.m., you have to be at The Collective, 7274 Malugay St., San Antonio Village, Makati for “A Whole Lotta Love,” a concert at Vinyl on Vinyl art gallery. Sandwich, Pedicab, Gajin, Chillitiees, Duster, Us-2 Evil-0, United Freestyles and Imago will cover songs from the bands featured in Tara’s posters: Green Day, Supergrass, Rilo Kiley, The Hives, The Melvins, Torche, Razorlight, The Futureheads, Blonde Redhead and The Stills.
Entrance and Manila beer will be free, there will be giveaways and an auction of band posters, and 50 event shirts and 80 event prints — all numbered and signed by the artist — will be up for sale. (Thanks to Chuvaness’s blog for additional info. For more details email vinylonvinyl@gmail.com). The posters, I have heard, are on display at Vinyl and Vinyl now, if you want to check them out in advance. Happy gazing!