The Zoltron Posters, 1996-2022, include 46 posters by San Francisco-based rock poster designer, street artist, and creative designer Zoltron. The posters feature Zoltron's specific style - originally inspired by Hipgnosis designer Storm Thorgerson - and eventually morphing into an anti-establishment "fuck you to the art world," featuring a mix of psychedelic sixties poster art with nineties comic book art and the DIY horror of punk flyers through retro pop culture references and a postmodern lens. The posters in this collection feature art promoting live concerts by Alice in Chains, Black Keys, Blondie, Devo, Faith No More, Foo Fighters, Jerry Garcia, Kool Keith (recording as Dr. Octagon), The Melvins, Nine Inch Nails, Iggy Pop, Primus, Psychedelic Furs, Pussy Riot, Queens of the Stone Age, The Residents, Soundgarden, The Specials, Ween, Widespread Panic. Zoltron has helped shaped Primus' image since 1996, designing their albums, posters, website, and advertising as the visual equivalent of the band’s music - winning him an RIAA platinum disc award for Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People. Zoltron's unique screen-prints have hung beside legendary rock artists Roger Dean, Mouse, and Griffin, and historic paintings by Jimi Hendrix and Jerry Garcia, and his work is also in the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Boston Museum of Fine Art, and the US Library of Congress. Specifically, these posters provide insight into Zoltron's complete body of work, from his first professional poster of the Residents at the Fillmore in 1996 to more recent shows in 2021; more generally, the posters serve as exemplars for how art can shape a musical group's image as well as visually represent different musical styles.
Biography / Administrative History
Secretive of the identity behind his pseudonym, Zoltron is a prolific San Francisco-based rock music poster designer, street artist, and creative director. Zoltron best is known for his iconic art of alternative rock, experimental, metal, hip-hop, hardcore, and punk bands, as well as movie posters. Many musicians, including Primus and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, request Zoltron's poster art for their live shows. In 2006 he was awarded a Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified gold disc for his work as producer of the Primus album Hallucino-Genetics, and in 2004, an RIAA certified platinum disc for the Primus album, Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People. His poster art is included in museum pop culture collections throughout the U.S. and in Great Britain. His large anti-establishment murals have covered walls all over the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2002, he founded the sticker printing company, Sticker Robot; best known for producing stickers of Shephard Fairey's Barack Obama "Hope" poster that became favorites on the collectibles market.
Notes
Acquisition Note: The Zoltron Posters were received by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as gifts from Zoltron on March 5, 2022 and September .
Citation: [Identification of Item], Zoltron Posters, Library and Archives, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Language Note: Collection is in English.
Processing Information: Processed by Jennie Thomas, Director of Archives. Completed June 10, 2022. Revised by Jennie Thomas, Director of Archives. Completed November 30, 2022. Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS and local processing manual. Collection processed through a Museums for America grant from the IMLS.
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Use
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