Sebas van den Brink - grafisch ontwerp, vormgeving, video/animatie, illustratie

Pearl Jam vs. Ames Bros.

By far the most precious book in my collection is the Pearl Jam vs. Ames Brothers book. Yes, I am a big fan of PJ. But let’s just leave that at that. This book - for any poster-maniac - is nothing short of a bible. There are a lot of these posterbibles out there. Though this one is probably its Genesis or that part about doom and destruction and all that. I haven’t read the real Bible in years… Anyway, this beautifully bound book is stuffed with posters from Pearl Jam made by the notorious Ames Brothers in the past 13 years. They’ve also made posters for artists like Muse, The Black Keys, Radiohead and the Lollapalooza festival. What strikes me is the total variation in style between posters. From handdrawn to collage, from typographical to modern design.

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What’s clear from the book is Pearl Jam’s political views, their refusal to stick to a ‘design’ and thereby their grunge roots. But other than that; this book is just a piece of art in itself. So full of examples and so beautifully bound it looks good in any bookcase. It even has a pageribbon. There are 2 editions, the regular 264 page edition and a special 308 page edition. I own the regular (green) one which cost me $50,- excluding shipping (US to Europe). But it was worth every penny - in fact I think it’s cheap for such a beautiful piece of print. Just look at these hawt pictures;

Talking about posters. For some reason i’m very much taken with the style of designer/musician Scott Hansen a.k.a. ISO50. Under his musical alias Tycho he also produces some sweet sounds, quite relaxing music. His graphical work really does breathe that 70’s, 80’s atmosphere. A bit worn, yellowish but very comfortable to look at and - it being 2008 - with a modern twist. He has a couple i’d love to hang om my still quite empty bedroom walls.