Macalester ceramics invitational 83 1983

Lanny Sommese made this poster for the Macalester ceramics invitational in 1983; a kind of silkscreen sandwich of photographic images and vector graphics, held together with colour. The colour palette is striking, isn't it? A kind of queasy green, offset with that splat of earthy brown. Then there's the figure of the little humanoid, like an ancient fertility symbol, bang in the middle of the brown splat. The whole thing feels spontaneous, visceral, yet totally controlled. This tension makes the piece what it is. I love the way Sommese isn’t afraid to be bold and playful. There’s a real visual punch. It makes me think of graphic designers like Paula Scher, who aren’t afraid to embrace ambiguity and imperfection. Ultimately, it’s this embrace of the unexpected that makes art so endlessly fascinating.