Zoltron
{{Short description|American rock music poster designer}}
Zoltron is an American rock music poster designer, street artist, and creative director. His posters are included in the collections of Victoria Albert Museum, London,{{Cite web|last=Museum|first=Victoria and Albert|title=Pussy Riot Postponed {{!}} Zoltron {{!}} V&A Explore The Collections|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1/O15/O155/O1554/O15545/O1554562/|access-date=2021-10-24|website=Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections|language=en}} de Young fine arts museum, San Francisco,{{cite web | url=https://www.famsf.org/art-finder?artist=16509 | title=FAMSF }} SFMOMA,{{Cite web |title=Zoltron |url=https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Zoltron/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=SFMOMA |language=en-US}} Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art,{{cite web |title=Zoltron - Pussy Riot Postponed |url=https://collections.lacma.org/node/2291081 |website=LACMA |access-date=27 October 2021}} Boston Museum of Fine Art,{{Cite web|title=California '88 (Iggy Pop)|url=https://collections.mfa.org/objects/687938/california-88-iggy-pop;jsessionid=4A7D5BEC56D78498ACBBF422581FB8C0|access-date=2021-10-24|website=collections.mfa.org|language=en}} the US Library of Congress, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum.{{cite web | url=https://library.rockhall.com/c.php?g=1105548&p=9214719 | title=LibGuides: Archival Collections: ARC-1251 to ARC-1300 }}
Although he is secretive and carefully conceals his identity behind his pseudonym, Zoltron is known for his iconic rock art for bands like Primus, Iggy Pop, Blondie, Black Keys, NIN, Jerry Garcia, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Dweezil Zappa, Queens of the Stone Age, Ween, The Melvins, Les Claypool, Pussy Riot, Jerry Cantrell, PJ Harvey, Die Antwoord, Widespread Panic, Devo.
He has been awarded a 2006 Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified gold disc for his work as producer of the grammy-award nominated alternative rock band Primus album Hallucino-Genetics, and a 2004 RIAA certified platinum disc for the Primus album Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People.{{Cite web|title=Gold & Platinum|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=RIAA|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Zoltron Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/zoltron-mn0000964230|access-date=2021-10-04|website=AllMusic|language=en}}
Early career
Zoltron was inspired by his older brothers and sisters' album covers, which he pinned to his bedroom wall. He bought albums simply for their cover art, and would "use the record as a frisbee". Among his major early influences he cites punk rock fliers, and the art of Hipgnosis designer Storm Thorgeson. His first professional poster was made for a The Residents concert at the Fillmore Theatre in San Francisco in 1996.{{cite book |last1=Richard |first1=Anne |title=HEY! Deluxe #1: Modern Art & Pop Culture |date=2018 |publisher=Hey L'Editeur |isbn=9782490097029|edition=French }}
Street art and poster design
He is a street artist whose large murals have covered walls in the San Francisco Bay Area. The works are characterized by a strongly anti-establishment theme, and frequently use Day of the Dead and memento mori imagery.{{cite web | url=https://zzz.zoltron.com/outside | title=Outside - zoltron }}
His mural of a penitent Ronald MacDonald in the Mission District of San Francisco was featured in a Huffington Post story about street art that challenged the McDonaldization of society. He said, "While I was drawing Ronald as an evil tyrant, I saw a glint of compassion in his eyes, like he was caught in an existential crisis... Maybe suddenly he realized that he was solely responsible for massive rainforest destruction & onset adolescent diabetes. So rather than draw him as an enemy, I decided to draw him as a born-again humanitarian, an empathetic leader... A compassionate clown."{{cite web |last1=Short |first1=Kevin |title=15 Captivating Works Of Art That Challenge The McDonaldization Of Society |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mcdonalds-protest-art_n_4981799 |website=HuffPost |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=17 September 2021}} Hi-Fructose published a photo story of the dialogue in paint that soon obscured the image.{{cite web |last1=Harman |first1=Ken |title=A Dialog with Zoltron |url=http://hifructose.com/2011/09/16/a-dialog-with-zoltron/ |website=Hi-Fructose |date=16 September 2011 |access-date=17 September 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Trippe |title=Zoltron & The 18th St. Forum |url=http://www.fecalface.com/SF/index.php/good-stuff/3281-zoltron-a-the-18th-st-forum |website=FecalFaceDotCom |access-date=17 September 2021}}
He has designed iconic posters for the live music scene, which have captured the attention of rock audiences and perceptive gallerists. His work has been exhibited in galleries in San Francisco,{{cite web |last1=Frye |first1=Eva |title=Inside 18 Reasons New Digs, Now Open in the Mission |date=16 September 2011 |url=https://sf.eater.com/2011/9/16/6650593/inside-18-reasons-new-digs-now-open-in-the-mission |access-date=17 September 2021}} New York,{{cite press release |title=Star Gallery NYC Presents "Memento Mori" A Group Exhibition |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/star-gallery-nyc-presents-memento-mori-a-group-exhibition-300762263.html |website=Cision |access-date=17 September 2021}} Washington DC{{cite web | url=http://www.notcot.com/archives/2009/01/manifest-hope-d.php | title=Manifest Hope: DC First Look (NOTCOT) }} and Portland by curators keen to capture the unique spirit of the West Coast street art scene. His imagery has made an international impact, too, and he has participated in exhibits at galleries in Mexico,https://zzz.zoltron.com/Punk-Rock-Poster-Show-Mexico Mexico Paris,{{cite web |last1=J. |first1=Caroline |title=Foo Fighters Sonic Art Ways a la French Paper Gallery |url=https://www.sortiraparis.com/arts-culture/exposition/articles/99520-foo-fighters-sonic-art-ways-a-la-french-paper-gallery |website=Sortir a Paris |access-date=17 September 2021}}{{cite web |last1=C. |first1=Mailys |title=Hey! Modern Art Pop Culture S'Installe a la Galerie Arts Factory |url=https://www.sortiraparis.com/arts-culture/exposition/articles/135661-hey-modern-art-pop-culture-s-installe-a-la-galerie-arts-factory |website=Sortir a Paris |access-date=17 September 2021}} and Bordeaux, France.{{cite news |last1=Bosdecker |first1=Laurie |title=BDX-LAX, L'art Relax |url=https://www.sudouest.fr/2014/06/12/bdx-lax-l-art-relax-1582692-2780.php?nic |website=Sud Ouest |date=6 December 2014 |access-date=17 September 2021}} Zoltron's "Primus and the Chocolate Factory" and "The Melvins" posters are featured in a four page spread about him in the bilingual edition of HEY! Modern Art & Pop Culture.{{cite book |last1=Richard |first1=Anne |title=HEY! DELUXE #1: Modern Art & Pop Culture |date=2018 |publisher=Hey L'Editeur |isbn=9782490097029}}
In 2010 his Red Vic Movie House poster design for Wes Anderson's movie of Fantastic Mr. Fox was featured in a Halloween exhibit at Spoke Art gallery in San Francisco.{{cite news |last1=Bromwich |first1=Kathryn |title=The life artistic: Wes Anderson-inspired works – in pictures |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/gallery/2016/aug/06/the-life-artistic-wes-anderson-inspired-works-in-pictures |website=The Guardian |date=6 August 2016 |access-date=17 September 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Harmon |first1=Ken |title=Bad Dads: Art Inspired by the films of Wes Anderson |date=2016 |publisher=Spoke Art Publishing}} The poster was followed by a design for Martin Scorsese's 1980 classic movie, Raging Bull.{{cite web |last1=Harman |first1=Ken |title=Zoltron x Raging Bull |url= https://hifructose.com/2010/05/11/zoltron-x-raging-bull/ |website=Hi-Fructose |date=11 May 2010 |access-date=19 September 2021}} He also designed a Red Vic poster for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.{{cite book |last1=Chojnacki |first1=Matthew |title=Alternative Movie Posters - Film Art from the Underground |date=2013 |publisher=Schiffer |isbn=9780764349867}}
Zoltron's posters are in the collections of major museums as examples of early 21st century popular culture iconography, including the Victoria & Albert Museum,{{Cite web|last=Museum|first=Victoria and Albert|title=Pussy Riot Postponed {{!}} Zoltron {{!}} V&A Explore The Collections|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1/O15/O155/O1554/O15545/O1554562/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections|language=en}} the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,{{Cite web|title=Pussy Riot Postponed {{!}} LACMA Collections|url=https://collections.lacma.org/node/2291108|access-date=2021-10-04|website=collections.lacma.org}} Boston Museum of Fine Art,{{Cite web|title=California '88 (Iggy Pop)|url=https://collections.mfa.org/objects/687938/california-88-iggy-pop;jsessionid=DAEC90FC7483FB28922401F5A72AE01A|access-date=2021-10-04|website=collections.mfa.org|language=en}} The de Young Museum in San Francisco,{{cite web | url=https://www.famsf.org/art-finder?artist=16509 | title=FAMSF }} SFMOMA,{{Cite web |title=Zoltron |url=https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Zoltron/ |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=SFMOMA |language=en-US}} Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Library & Archives{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Jennie |title=LibGuides: Archival Collections: ARC-1251 to ARC-1300 |url=https://library.rockhall.com/c.php?g=1105548&p=9214719 |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=library.rockhall.com |language=en}} and the U.S. Library of Congress.{{Cite web|date=2007|title=[Barack Obama election ephemera]|url=https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2010635422/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=www.loc.gov|language=en}}
There are Zoltron fans among the great names of contemporary rock. When Dave Grohl's Foo Fighters played a private pop-up gig at the Blue Note, a 150-person capacity club in Napa, California, Grohl asked Zoltron to design a collectible limited-edition poster for the audience.{{cite web |last1=Harrington |first1=Jim |title=BottleRock Act Foo Fighters Play Secret Show in Napa |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/05/27/video-bottlerock-act-foo-fighters-play-secret-show-in-napa/ |website=Mercury News |date=27 May 2017 |publisher=Bay Area News Group |access-date=17 September 2021}}
Primus
Zoltron began his career in the rock and roll world in 1996 at Prawn Song Design, a freelance graphic design company founded by Les Claypool of Primus, Larry LaLonde and Adam Gates, focusing on the exploding opportunities of Web-based design in the mid-1990s, creating the entire online catalog for music industry titans Interscope Records, Geffen, Aftermath, Death Row Records, and A & M.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}
By 1998 he had become Creative Director for Prawn Song, responsible for the design and creative direction of all Primus and Les Claypool related projects, including: Antipop, Videoplasty, Rhinoplasty, Hallucino-Genetics: Live 2004, Green Naugahyde, Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People, They Can't All Be Zingers, Blame It on the Fish: An Abstract Look at the 2003 Primus Tour de Fromage, Oysterhead, The Grand Pecking Order, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, The Big Eyeball in the Sky, and Les Claypool's solo projects Purple Onion, Of Whales and Woe, Of Fungi and Foe, and Electric Apricot: Quest For Festeroo.{{Citation needed|date=October 2021}}
In 2003 Zoltron produced the platinum-selling, retrospective Primus DVD, 'Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People,' an interactive DVD experience spanning the band's rich history dating back to early bootlegs and live radio performances. Primus' singer/bassist Les Claypool remarked that, "It seems of late that bands are adding supplemental DVD material to their album releases to promote record sales. We've done the opposite. We've added a supplemental audio recording of brand-new music to an extremely comprehensive DVD of classic visuals."{{Cite web|date=2003|title=PRIMUS Animals Should Not Try To Act Like People DVD CD Tour Fall 2003|url=http://www.primusville.com/animals/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726165432/http://www.primusville.com/animals/|archive-date=26 July 2011|access-date=4 October 2021|website=Primusville}} In his review for AllMusic, Greg Prato predicted that "while hardcore fans will want to hear what Claypool and the boys have been up to lately in the recording studio, the main attraction of Animals is its exceptional DVD."{{cite web |last1=Prato |first1=Greg |title=Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/animals-should-not-try-to-act-like-people-mw0000325555 |website=AllMusic |access-date=1 October 2021}}
In 2011, Zoltron initiated a limited-edition poster project for Primus, commissioning artists to produce hand-printed, individually signed, and numbered silkscreen posters, and using a new image for each of the shows on their tours, skidding across the United States. There are now 400 unique {{convert|18|x|24|in|abbr=on}} designs, chronicling every gig the band has played with as much hallucinatory variety as their music.{{Cite web|date=2015-07-30|title=Zoltron On Curating Primus' Expansive Poster Series|url=https://news.1xrun.com/zoltron-curating-primus-expansive-poster-series/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=1xRUN Blog|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2011-09-20|title=Jim Pollock, Chuck Sperry, Zoltron Among Artists Set for Primus Tour Poster Series|url=https://relix.com/news/detail/jim-pollock-chuck-sperry-zoltron-among-artists-set-for-primus-tour-poster-s/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=Relix Media|language=en-US}}
Zoltron's work for Primus included a collaboration with designer Zombie Yeti to produce a "frizzle-fry acid trip" design for Primus-themed pinball tables, built as a limited edition by Stern Pinball.{{Cite web|last=pin2d|date=2018-11-23|title=Primus Pinball Revealed! Interview with Zoltron and Zombie Yeti|url=https://www.thisweekinpinball.com/primus-pinball-revealed-interview-with-zoltron-and-zombie-yeti/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=This Week in Pinball|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2018-12-04|title=Primus unveils first-ever pinball machine|url=https://themusicuniverse.com/primus-unveils-first-ever-pinball-machine/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=The Music Universe|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2018-11-23|title=Primus Unveils Limited Edition Pinball Machine For Cyber Monday|url=https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/primus-pinball-machine/|access-date=2021-10-04|website=L4LM|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Primus Details Limited Edition Custom Pinball Machine|url=https://www.jambase.com/article/primus-pinball-machine-limited-edition-custom|access-date=2021-10-04|website=JamBase|language=en-US}}
Sticker Robot and political activism
In early 2002, Zoltron founded the sticker printing company, Sticker Robot. During Barack Obama's campaign for the US Presidency, Sticker Robot produced stickers of Shepard Fairey's famous Barack Obama "Hope" poster.{{cite web |last1=Arnon |first1=Ben |title=How the Obama "Hope" Poster Reached a Tipping Point and Became a Cultural Phenomenon: An Interview With the Artist Shepard Fairey |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-the-obama-hope-poster_b_133874 |website=Huffington Post |date=13 November 2008 |access-date=23 September 2021}}{{cite book |last1=Gross |first1=Jennifer |title=Art for Obama: Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change |date=2009 |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |isbn=9780810984981}} The first printing was for 5,000; by the time of the election the run had increased to 500,000 and the stickers had become a collectible.{{cite web |title=Obama Hope Stickers |url=https://obeygiant.com/obama-hope-stickers/ |website=Obey Giant |date=17 March 2008 |access-date=23 September 2021}}
Zoltron produced his own Obama poster, which was photographed and commented on in a Time magazine article.{{cite journal |last1=Scherer |first1=Michael |title=Barack Obama Person of the Year 2012 |journal=Time Magazine |date=29 December 2008 |url=https://poy.time.com/2012/12/19/person-of-the-year-barack-obama/ |access-date=1 October 2021}} The poster was shown in "a giant art exhibit" in Washington D.C. held to celebrate the inauguration.{{cite web |title=Marin Artists Join Obama Inaugural Festivities |url=https://www.marinij.com/2009/01/19/marin-artists-join-obama-inaugural-festivities/ |website=Marin Independent Journal |date=19 January 2009 |access-date=23 September 2021}}