Swag: Rock Posters of the 90's

Graphic art takes the spotlight in this collection of""swag""--the decorative concert ads that festoon lampposts, billboards and teenagers' walls. CD-packager Drate celebrates what he calls the""global poster movement"" and features the work of 50 artists, from established graphic designers like Frank Kozik to newbies like Serigraphie Populaire, a duo who print all their posters by hand. Although many of the posters showcase the grunge and indie bands that sprung up during this new era of graphic design, there are samples from some mainstream musical acts who jumped on the wagon too: Bob Dylan and Ozzie Osbourne find their swag alongside Pearl Jam and Radiohead. The reprinted posters date from 1993 to 2002, with the nexus of work centered on the late 90s to the present (the subtitle is a bit misleading). Aside from Seattle designer Art Chantry's historical tour of rock posters in the introduction, the prose is minimal, leaving plenty of space for the surreal, satirical, raw sometimes ghastly vision of""classic sleazeball American trash culture."" 250 color illustrations.