Malleus - Roadburn 2009 Posters

I don't think I can emphasize enough about how much I love the work of Italian screen printers extraordinaire Malleus. I narrowed down their portfolio just to focus on the posters they produced for the Roadburn festival back in 2009 and it is these works which first gained my attention of the art collective. 

In my eyes I can see Alphonse Mucha's overt influence in all aspects, the consistent feature of semi-naked women, the explosive colours and the poster medium Mucha too favoured. It's also in the grace and beauty of the women and the subtle combination of the colours, though Mucha preferred earthier tones Malleus go psychedelic and burst with powerful, flourishing colour which is marvellous. 

I totally recommend you to go check out more of their work at their cool website HERE

On top of their awesome art, some members of the Malleus collective are also in the drone/doom band Ufomammut, see a cool photo I took of them live here, they are psychedelic and heavy and worth your time. 

Check out Ufomammut HERE and below...

Hapshash and the Coloured Coat

If you haven't already guessed, I'm a bit of a psychedeliphiliac (making up words is fun!) when it comes to posters. That and mythology wins me over every time.

Hapshash and the Coloured Coat are an artistic partnership between Englishmen Michael English and Nigel Waymouth from way back in the 1960s, having produced in that decade two psychedelic and proto-prog records and a hamper full gorgeous posters. You can read a review of one of their 'freaky' records at this endearing little site: here. Apparently it's "It’s wayward, repetitive, freaky, and VERY 1967." Interesting.

If one is paying attention you can definitely see the influence of Alphonse Mucha on Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, the vibrant and playful colours are telling an excellent, spacey in this case, tale. Other artists I'm feeling in Hapshash...'s works are Hieronymus Bosch and Max Ernst, mainly because I just lifted those names directly from their Wiki page.....

Anyway, I am really digging Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, it's the intricate detail and the excessive vivid colouring makes me want to sit and absorb it for hours. You can see more of 60s twosome in the odd place of The Who Museum website. Which is very odd thinking about it. Hit it up: here

If you also want to pretend you know everything hit their wiki page for info: here

Alphonse Mucha

Alphonse Mucha illustrations are remarkable, his beautiful lithographs feel way ahead of it's late 19th century time. The excruciatingly detailed women detailed in his paintings have influenced countless of pretenders, one of the most obvious contemporary artists off the top of my head is John Dyer Baizely, whose work I am a big admirer of, albeit Baizely has more of a fascination with flowers and dismemberment. It is the warm, perky, natural colours which enamour me to Mucha's work, and it complements the gorgeous subject matter. Amazingly, it is Alphonse Mucha, a name which I indeed love saying, no one's called Alphonse anymore, who was the pre-curser for the French art movement Art Nouveau, which you can read about on good ol'wiki: here.

Moreover, you can read up more on Alphonse Mucha: here. He is indeed an interesting fellow as it seemed he had an internal struggle between his fine art aspirations and his commercial successes.

Alphonse Mucha is a popular guy so you can:

Hit up his official site to read up on the man: here
See a comprehensive list of his works: here
If you feel really good about yourself you can buy his posters: here

After the jump a photograph of the man himself.