My latest poster is for Dersu Uzala, Akira Kurosawa’s 1975 masterpiece.
24” x 36” Regular, Japanese Variant, and 18” X 24” art print (“The Trapper, Sunrise”), expertly screen printed by DL with metallic inks on Mohawk cream paper.
For sale this Friday, June 18 2021. Head over to
@blackdragonpress and click the link in their bio for more information.
Dersu Uzala is Kurosawa’s only non Japanese film (no Japanese is spoken and none of the actors are Japanese). It details the adventures and the unlikely, yet powerful friendship between a Russian explorer and a nomadic trapper. Themes of friendship, the modern world encroaching upon the natural world, the simultaneous beauty and cruelty of nature, and the inevitability of old age are all explored. Kurosawa presents us with stunning views of the remote and explored landscapes of eastern Russia, shot in 70 mm.
Like many, I had never seen the film until
@blackdragonpress asked me to collaborate with them on it. There was a lot to take in. As per usual, my first thought was to try and cram every scene and theme from the film into some kind of collage poster, but I wanted to try a simpler and bolder image. I knew I wanted the detail to be dense, to emulate the feeling of these two lone wanderers getting lost in a dense forest, but I also wanted it to feel open at the same time, like one could explore this land forever.
Typically, I use colors that make it look like my posters were printed with melted Starburst candies, but here I wanted to tone it down in some areas and use more gray tones. I didn’t hold back on the sun and moon light and elemental nature colors, as I wanted those to shimmer and feel alive like they do in the film.
This poster took a long time due to me having to unlearn a lot what I’d been doing usually in the past and due to the thoughtful approach needed to honor what many consider to be Kurosawa’s greatest film.
If you haven’t, please see the film and follow
@blackdragonpress to check out all the amazing talent with whom they work.
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