Working on my new poster for Pearl Jam was an absolute blast. I worked directly with Jeff Ament as he requested me to create another Norman Rockwellesque poster like my PJ20 and 2010 Hartford posters. He wanted me to create an image of his dad (who was a barber back in the day) giving Montana senator John Tester "a little off the top" as they say. Apparently Jeff's dad was the first person to give him his signature flat top hairstyle back in the day. It was fun bringing Jeff's vision to life and including little details like the types of barber gear that were present as well as adding an old school Sgt Rock comic book on the counter to capture the feel of his childhood memories in his pops shop. It was an honor and pleasure to work with Jeff to create this one.
On the back print of the poster Jeff wrote this message about that time in his youth:
"Some of my earliest memories are of hanging out at my Pop's barber shop; reading comic books, waiting to sweep up cut hair and clean out the ashtrays for a quarter(late 60s). In between, I listened to my dad and the clientele argue and discuss the topics of the day: politics, war, religion, welfare, taxes, hippies, the Cold War, high school sports and even some local gossip. These customers were the liberal Scandinavians out west, the conservative ranchers from most of the other directions, Native Americans from Rocky Boy, and even a few folks from Havre and Fort Benton who liked my dad's haircuts. They often disagreed, but they were all friends. They prayed together in the same churches, the volunteered at the fire department, they went to PTA meetings, First Communions, birthday parties, movies, weddings, and funerals. They would do anything for each other, even though they voted differently and/or believed in different gods. What happened?
-Jeff"
My artist edition is a different colorway than the show copies. The show edition has a blue color on the design, mine is more of a teal greenish-blue. I love both of them but I prefer my variation just a tiny bit more.
Here's the poster details:
Limited Edition: 275 copies
Size: 18" x 24"
Type: 6 Color Screen Print on 100 lb Cougar paper stock
Markings: Signed & Numbered & JH Logo Embossed
Other: Official Pearl Jam holographic identifying sticker with a unique serial number on each copy.