Needful Things From MONDO!
MONDO is an online company with a gallery in Austin (my former home) that commissions and sells posters, vinyl soundtracks and other film ephemera which usually provides a unique take on some well explored subjects like The Wizard Of Oz, as well as some cult classics. Today they released a new Oz poster illustrated by Anne Benjamin. It was a screen print poster in a limited edition of 250, and while I fantasized buying it, wouldn't you know it has already sold out. Of course, they originally sold for $50 and are already available for twice that on eBay. If you are interested in what they have to offer you can follow them on Twitter and get announcements as products are released.
I adore this particular take on the film as it highlights some of the darker moments, but still has a very luscious and whimsical story book approach. Her line work is so intricate, a quality shared with that of Arthur Rackham, and which adds to the fairy tale essence of the work.
Below are some more of my favorites, which you can see at Mondo's website. Of course, most of these are sold out, but I've provided links to the artist's websites, and they often have prints and original artwork for sale.
Mad Monster Party by Mark Chiarello. This one is still on sale!
By Ken Taylor
Laurent Durieux has some truly stunning work available to view at his website. The It's A Wonderful Life poster is particularly evocative.
I love this take by Tom Whalen, and his website has a gorgeous screen print for sale of The Wolfman (which was not done for Mondo). It captures the regrets and the guilt of the character, as well as the eerie romance that the story has always held for me. I might need to buy this at some point...
Here's a different take on the film by Jay Shaw, who is also MONDO's Creative Director. I've always loved that the wolfman is just kind of an every day jerk who gets unwillingly tangled in this inner struggle to control the monster inside him. He's the most empathetic of all the monsters to my mind, and this work really brings out all those conflicting emotions.
Let's close with this sentimental favorite of mine by Diana Sudyka, which combines a beautiful use of color with a beautiful rendering of Audrey Hepburn, and a shoutout to the Alamo Drafthouse at it's former location on South Lamar.