We had the absolute pleasure of the company of Art Chantry (and his lovely wife) this past couple of days. Not only was he in town to give a Visual Voices lecture, but he also has an exhibition running in our gallery.
For those of you who have been living under a stone, here’s a very brief outline of Chantry’s design career – his prominence began in the early 80’s when he became the art director of the Rocket, a monthly music magazine. Prior to that he had tried, unsuccessfully, to tout his portfolio around all the usual corporate design offices in the Seattle area. Chantry quickly realized that the only way he was going to ‘make it’ was to keep true to his design beliefs and pretty much establish the style synonymous with the Pacific West Coast single handedly. Almost immediately he emerged as a graphic designer known for quick turnarounds and innovative ideas about production. Chantry is probably best known for expanding on the aesthetic of punk music, in posters and album covers for bands like Nirvana, Hole and the Sonics, as well as some lesser-known groups. Some of his famous techniques include torn-edge collage, taped images, messy script, punch-printed lettering, startling juxtapositions and endless variations on the possibilities of photographic graininess achieved by repeated photocopying. He advocates for a low-tech approach to design whilst keeping in mind the history of art. Art Chantry’s work has been exhibited at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum of Modern Art, Seattle Art Museum, the Smithsonian, the Louvre….. and Bradley University!
