Mondokhaaan!!! Last weekend (September 14th and 15th) freaks and geeks (artists and collectors) flocked to the Palmer Events Center in Austin, TX for MondoCon 5, the preeminent shindig for limited edition screen printed movie posters. It was a flash of a weekend that consisted of panels, screenings, fun times with familiar faces, food, lines, and more art than you can fit in your flat files. At MondoCon 4, legendary artist William Stout called MondoCon “the best curated show in the country.” This year he repeated that sentiment and added, “There is no bad art in this room.”
It’s always a joy to walk the con floor, talk with artists, check out their work, get some prints signed, and peruse the various limited edition collectibles for sale, including movie posters, art prints, pins, soundtracks, tee shirts, and other odds and ends. I’m always curious what the artists are into, so I went to them one by one and asked if they had a favorite poster or other item from the con. It was interesting to see what they picked and there was a wide variety of responses. When people selected the Skateboard Workshop by WBYK artist Sonny Day, I allowed it because they were passionate about it and it involved creating a tangible piece of art. Participants got to design and create their own custom skateboards with the guidance and encouragement of a pro. Mo Shafeek, Label Manager for Mondo Music and Death Waltz Recording Co., chose the Skateboard Workshop as his favorite thing from MondoCon 5 and had high praise for Day. “Sonny is a genius, an auteur, and an absolute legend. He takes Mondo to the next level.”
I didn’t speak with every artist, but I made it around to most of them and I have at least 50 opinions to relay. I have to give folks credit. I put them on the spot and ask them to pick their favorite pieces of art at a convention full of amazing things when they’ve all been busy manning their booths, speaking with fans, and selling prints all weekend. Despite all of that, almost everybody takes the time to give the question proper consideration and I appreciate it.
Notes: I made my rounds on Sunday. Martin Ansin’s poster for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was revealed at the MondoCon screening on Saturday night so it’s included even though it wasn’t on display at the con. The MondoCon screening of There Will Be Blood (on 35mm) came with a striking poster by João Ruas and took place on Sunday evening after I spoke with the artists, so it is not included. Based on the general reaction to it and comments like the one made by artist Daniel Danger (“It’s a straight up all timer. A thousand stars out of five.”), I get the feeling that it would’ve gotten a lot of love. Check it out:
This is Martin Ansin’s design for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Folks who attended the screening left with a variant printed on foil paper. The regular edition is a timed edition and it’s currently available here until 11:59pm on Wednesday, 9/18.
Now, without further ado, artists pick their favorite posters (and things) from MondoCon 5!
Randy Ortiz– Sonny’s Skateboard Workshop. “I like that it got people involved and they could learn something.”
Nicole Gustafsson– Mondo’s soundtracks for the Castlevania games on vinyl.
Rory Kurtz– João Ruas’ Confutatis (from the Vacvvm booth) and Martin Ansin’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Sam Turner– João Ruas’ Confutatis and Greg Ruth’s original art.
Mitch Putnam (Mondo Creative Director)– Sonny’s Skateboard Workshop and the 100% Soft booth.
Matt Taylor– Tomer Hanuka’s A Quiet Place.
Erica Williams- Tomer Hanuka’s A Quiet Place. Erica said she doesn’t often buy posters this big (24″ x 36″), but she liked it and picked one up at MondoCon.
Paige Reynolds (Phantom City Creative)– “The black and gold birds at Erica Williams’ booth.”
Jay Shaw (Mondo Creative Director)– Alex Pardee’s Gummo and 100% Soft’s Back to the Future.
Sonny Day (WBYK)– Alex Pardee’s Gummo. “Poster of the Con.”
William Stout– “MondoCon is the best curated art show in the country. There is no bad art in this room.”
Dan McCarthy– William Stout’s original dinosaur paintings.
Sara Deck– Rory Kurtz’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Justin Erickson (Phantom City Creative)– Rory Kurtz’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. “It looks like a Baroque-era painting.”
Todd Slater– Rory Kurtz’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Matt Ryan Tobin’s Blue Velvet, and Boris Pelcer’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Todd hadn’t seen Boris’ work and he loves how he draws clouds and hair.
Becky Cloonan– Sam Wolfe Connelly’s original art depicting a frog, “Bill” Stout’s book (he’s sketching a Plesiosaurus in it for her), Claire Hummel’s “fucking awesome” sketchbook, and Richey Beckett.
Rob Jones (Mondo Creative Director)– Greg Ruth’s Midsommar.
Spencer Hickman (Head of Music at Mondo)– Greg Ruth’s Midsommar.
Richey Beckett– Scott C’s Zardoz showdown print. Richey loves Zardoz and he was thrilled to get print #1.
Scott C– “Sonny’s booth is cool and I love everyone.” We love you too, Scott C.
John Vogl– Matthew Woodson’s new stuff, Teagan White’s new giclee Least Concern (from the Vacvvm booth), and Jessica Seamans’ grackle print and cats & flowers print.
Daniel Danger– John Vogl’s 93 Dogs. “A clear winner.” Daniel also liked Rory Kurtz’s pencil drawing for Logan.
Jessica Seamans (Landland)– Raising Arizona by Leslie Herman.
Dan Black (Landland)– Dan didn’t see everything but he’s a fan of Claire Hommel’s print for Mesa Verde National Park.
Ryan Duggan– Leslie Herman’s booth and Scott C’s 2001: A Space Odyssey print.
Truck Torrence (100% Soft)– Jason Edmiston’s Kurt’s So Good Kurt Russell set, Rory Kurtz’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Daniel Danger’s MondoCon 5 print.
Sparkle Bombb– Phantom City Creative’s Catwoman print.
Gary Pullin– Paige Reynold’s Metallica poster, Drew Struzan’s Creature from the Black Lagoon, Todd Slater’s “foil prints with the flowing hair,” and Oliver Barrett’s A Clockwork Orange (the orange one).
Oliver Barrett– Sam Wolf Connelly. “Sam’s booth looked like a cohesive body of work.”
Eric Garza (Mondo Creative Director)- “Any new work by Matthew Woodson.” Eric also stated that he’s thankful for the amount of people that came out and celebrated art. Hear, hear, my man.
Drew Struzan– Drew loves the Mictlan Aztec God of the Dead toy he picked up from Jesse Hernandez.
Miles Tsang– Boris Pelcer’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Daniel Danger’s Session 9 art print, everything by Drew Struzan, and Florian Bertmer’s Vault of Horror keyline.
Stan and Vince– The work of Rory Kurtz, Drew Struzan, Jonathan Burton, Greg Ruth, and Phantom City Creative.
Matthew Woodson– Sam Wolfe Connelly’s work and Kilian Eng’s Looking for Hades (from the Static Medium booth).
J.J. Harrison– Static Medium (“The Mu Pan and Kilian Eng pieces are beautiful”), Land Land’s art print Bucholy, and “Living Legends” Drew Struzan and William Stout.
Boris Pelcer– Matthew Woodson’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (Woodson had a few copies of the MondoCon 4 favorite for sale). Pelcer described it as “Simply sophisticated. The glowing eyes add to the atmosphere and the feeling that there is something bigger than us.”
Claire Hummel– Matthew Woodson had a few uncut copies of his highly popular TMNC set from MondoCon 2017 and Claire scooped one up.
JC Richard– “I haven’t seen much, but I really like Martin Ansin’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse print.
Jay Ryan– “I’m happy to be in the same aisle as John Vogl, Nicole Gustafsson, Ryan Duggan, and Alex Pardee & his heavily lit booth. It’s nice to discover some new work and put some faces with names and artwork.”
Jesse Hernandez– Alex Pardee’s Be Kind.
Sarah Schatz (Screen Printer at Burlesque)– Nicole Gustafsson’s “freaking adorable fairy tale stuff.”
Jason Edmiston– Teagan White’s Least Concern.
Greg Ruth– Rory Kurtz’s Rocky Mountain National Park poster.
Jock– Greg Ruth’s A Clockwork Orange.
Sam Wolfe Connelly– Johnny Dombrowski’s MondoCon 2019 Exclusive Amazing Mystery Magazine Pulp Cover Screen Print.
Aaron Draplin– Ryan Duggan’s Superchunk 2018. “I just like how this guys got wit and humor disguised with serious chops.” Aaron also chose “everything from Landland and Jay Ryan.”
Matt Ryan Tobin– John Baizley’s piece from the Vacvvm booth.
Roxy Arfa (Mondo Licensing Manager)– The Jason Edmiston WBYK Lipstick print.
David Rancatore (Mondo Business Intelligence Director)– “Sounds diplomatic, but everything. Walking around, talking with artists and getting insight into their work… I like it all.” Me too, David. Me too.
That’s a wrap! Thanks to all the artists and art directors who took the time to chat about their favorite MondoCon posters and to all the MondoCon volunteers who helped make the event possible. And cheers to all the collectors and fans who make this community what it is. See ya next time!
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