DiSCORDER: “Pop Montreal – Jack Dylan”

“Dude Draws Neat Things”

by Dory Kornfeld, DiSCORDER, UBC news paper, Vancouver BC.

They are all over Montreal, and they are the loveliest of things. Yes yes, of course I mean the Francophone girls with their strange shoes and impeccable haircuts, and the fixed-gear road bikes, and the brick buildings with brightly-coloured front doors, but I also mean the posters of Jack Dylan. Black and white 11×17s are stapled to poles year round, but during Pop Montreal this October, the city was vibrant with full-coloured specimens; so many, in fact, that it seemed as though there was but one poster artist in town. “These are so lovely,” we said to each other, “so lovely indeed.”

Employing a comic-y style, Dylan’s posters promote the local indie rock in that humorous-yet-sentimental way that we have grown accustomed to falling for again and again. Girls in scarves and boots march through the winter while the snow spells out who’s playing; kids at a show smoke cigarettes and complain that they want to go home; the most iconic feature band members wrestling with superheroes. Is there anything that would make you want to go see Islands more than the possibility that Nicholas Thorburn might take on the Green Lantern mid-show? Maybe. But is there anything more exciting about Pop Montreal than the opportunity to purchase, straight from the source, an 11×17 of your very own, pristine, without the corners being wrecked by staples and tape? Certainly not.

Though I only managed to stutter and stammer when chatting with Mr Dylan at his table at the Puces Pop poster show, the man was kind enough to answer my questions post-facto.

Discorder: Did you start off desiring to do posters, or are they just a convenient way to make lots of art?

Jack Dylan: I started off with a serious case of poster envy. I loved posters and novel covers, and found the format to be an open window for a lot of the ideas I had. So my first body of work was 20 large paintings that looked like posters, but all had titles that I had dreamed up for them like, The “Naked and the Dead” or “Eat The Roach.” Essentially, I’ve always been and have wanted to be an illustrator.

How do you feel about being The Poster Guy?

You know, in this town, “Poster Guy” is not such a bad shtick. There are so many musicians, that suddenly this guy who can’t play a note and draws purple cats is actually kind of interesting, kind of a rebel. (Well maybe not that far.) I don’t envy the so-called fine artists who slave for a year on a show of paintings only to have their work seen by a few hundred people in one tiny gallery. Compared to that, doing posters is like playing stadiums. But I don’t want to do this forever. I did a show of paintings this year, and even though it was seen by far less people, I found it very rewarding, and I think that there’s a lot more room to develop in the traditional arts than with illustrations and posters. They can get to be a bit…two dimensional.

Some of your stuff is really self-mocking…I’m thinking of the one with the girls in coats and one is saying something like, “I’m sick of that guy’s illustrations.” Is this something that you’ve actually overheard, or are you just guessing about what they’re saying when your back is turned?

No, I actually did overhear that at a show. One girl said, “I like that guy’s illustrations, but I’m kind of maxed out on them.” Then she turned the corner and said “woopsy” when she saw me. I was elated, and I knew right away that I was going to use it for a poster. Just prior to that I had actually become very paranoid that people we’re going to suddenly turn on me. I had gotten my first taste of success, and it seemed natural that the tide would shift. But when I heard that remark, I felt all better, redeemed by the fact that I had been right, that people really did hate me. I’ve always been a big advocate of self-mocking humour as a form of therapy. And if you really look at the posters, it’s not hard to tell that that’s what I’m doing. I’ve got a poster where I’ve announced that my girlfriend has left me and that I’m suicidal. Posters about how uncomfortable I am at shows, and posters blatantly adorned with my childish fantasies. It’s like by putting your worst fears out there for all to see, you’ve somehow vaccinated yourself against the problem.

How long have you been doing this? Did you go to art school?

I’ve been making show posters for almost 2 years, and I’ve made over 90 of them. I did go to an art school called Beal Art in London, Ontario for two years. It was not a fine arts education though; the school was hands-on technical training, and I earned high school credits. But from what I’ve seen of most university programs in fine arts, I was far better off at Beal. We learned how to do it our self, save money on materials and throw our own shows. They taught us to go out and be working artists. And it was free, a hugely important advantage.

What other artists are you into right now?

I look at a lot of comic book artists, Charles Burns, Adrian Tomine, Chester Brown. And I’ve always got my eye on local poster artists SeriPop. They’re like Picasso to my humble Norman Rockwell. I look a lot at design, billboards, magazines and film, television and books. They’re often the source for the inspiration behind my work. And I people-watch, and I listen. That’s probably the most important thing I take in.

Do you make money from your work?

I haven’t had any other job in three years. When I got out of art school I habitually went to get my old job as a waiter back, but as it turned out I was fired. So I put on my own art shows instead, and I’ve been working ever since.

Are you from Montreal? Would you consider going anywhere else?

I’m from Stratford, Ontario, and I moved to Montreal almost three years ago. I could easily imagine setting up camp here-I’d like to buy a building one day, and set up studios and venue space. I already have that but I rent and the heating is inadequate. But I’ve got to leave here someday. New York would be tempting, Vancouver too. But if I go it would have to be somewhere pretty darn good.

Do you love local indie rock? Do you go to the shows you make posters for?

Yeah, a lot of times I do. I didn’t start off loving music or going to shows. That was something I learned over my time in Montreal. My last girlfriend was a full-time musician and the lead singer in a band, and my best friend has been making music for as long as I’ve been making art. And my home and studio space also houses 8 different bands that jam there.

Which are your favourite posters that you’ve done?

I really like the Joanna Newsom one I just finished. She’s pretty. I think the Art Nouveau Poster for my own exhibition “Jack Dylan is Alive and Well and Living in Montr’eal” sums me up the best though.

What’s the meanest thing anyone has ever said to you?

That’s tough, because in time I’ve come to love all of the mean things people have said to me. I am very sensitive about my terrible spelling though. It’s a very heavy cross for a poster artist to bear.

What kind of shoes do you wear in the winter?

Doc Martens I think. Someone told me that they weren’t cool anymore. Perhaps that’s the meanest thing anyone has ever said to me.

Jack Dylan isn’t just about rock-show posters, he also does paintings and holds exhibitions. You can check out the body of his work at the predictable jackdylan.ca.