Patent Pending Industries, “11/100” Opening
I moved to Seattle in the spring of 2001, right before people began flying planes into buildings and changing the course of history. A budding post-rock fan, I was excited to be in the middle of some of the industries greatest acts and venues. It was this excitement that lead me to Showbox on Friday, June 1st, 2001 to see the Chicago-native band, Tortoise.
Now, don’t get me wrong, Tortoise’s live performances are something to behold. While their studio work is produced nearly perfectly, they are true musicians who have mastered their instruments and play with the passion required of any good performer. Yet, as good as that show way (and believe me, it was incredible) the impression I left the show with was not how great the music was, but how great this one poster I saw was.
Mogwai, another great post-rock band, this time from Glasgow, was playing the same venue a few days later and there, tacked to the wall near stage right, was a small broadside promoting the show. The poster captured both the complexity and beauty of Mogwai’s music, which, while loud and imposing at times also seems to fuse science and art in a nearly hypnotic collection of sounds. At times it is frantic, at times it is peaceful, at times it veers off to someplace you’ve never been. And here was this poster that seemed to capture everything about the band.
It’s rare to find design that speaks so elegantly to its subject. Joe Sparano said, “Good design is obvious. Great design is transparent.” and the work of Patent Pending Industries is about as articulate of an endorsement of this as I’ve seen. Jeff Kleinsmith and Jesse LeDoux have been producing this kind of work as a team for over a decade.
It brings me a great deal of joy to be showcasing their work at Design Commission this August and September. The collection of over 140 poster designs for bands is, in my opinion, a definitive statement about the last decade of rock music and some damn fine design work to boot.
Opening Reception: August 5, 2010, 5 PM | On Facebook | Gallery Page
