Mucca Pazza Posters complete!


Limited series of 56, 1-color silkscreen with unique handmarking on each, 18x24”. Silkscreen printing by Sonnenzimmer.
Available at Mucca Pazza’s 3/25 show at Chicago’s Mayne Stage or from them directly: mucca-pazza.org













*See previous posts about this process on 2/18 and 2/22.

Big ups to Sonnenzimmer for ace printing of the blue!

Posters for Mucca Pazza, Pt.2

(part 1 of this post is here, and here are pics of finished work!).

finished lettering yesterday, gave electronic file to print aces Sonnenzimmer for the blue silkscreen part. word this afternoon that it’s done and being trimmed to 18x24” tomorrow — friday i’ll render the final paint marker stroke on each one, and then they’re off!






UPDATE: See here for the finished work, available at Mucca Pazza’s 3/25 show or from them directly: mucca-pazza.org

posters for Mucca Pazza

Mentioned earlier with marker comps “something in the works” — making a small run of posters for the band Mucca Pazza’s upcoming show at Mayne Stage in Chicago. We’re making a very limited number of 1-color silkscreen prints with a bit of hand-embellishment, and here’s how thoughts have progressed with it. Click any of these to see the pics a little bigger.



See, Mucca Pazza is “… a sort of punkish/rock marching band, playing sophisticated original scores and classics with a signature, high-intensity twist. The troupe’s comprised of something like 30(?) seasoned musicians that flexibly coalesce in venues and public spectacles to bring the noise, infectious joy and a sheer love of music.”









So I’ve honed-in on something like this directly above as a graphic for 18” x 24” posters, with the blue being printed and the black being a hand-drawn flourish afterward, each piece being somewhat unique. Next step: dedicating some careful attention to all the hand-lettering. Among these black curliques below are the ones I’ll use for the print template:

Printing next week, will share another update when I’m marking final strokes on ‘em.

UPDATE: See here for the finished work, available at Mucca Pazza’s 3/25 show or from them directly: mucca-pazza.org

Art for Dil Pickle Club Revival 12/9/10


I made some art last Thursday to support an exciting new incarnation of Chicago’s legendary Dil Pickle Club, finishing just in time for sale at their event that night. 17 unique, poster-sized (18”x24”) text pieces with stenciled spraypaint and freehand marker were priced very accessibly to benefit the initiative and were well-received by guests, with one enthusiastic collector ensuring that none remained(!).

The original Dil Pickle Club was a legendary speakeasy/cabaret where creatives, activists, civic doers and all stripes of social misfit gathered in early-1900s Chicago, forming a vibrant hub of entertainment and proletarian intellectualism from the jazz-age through 1934. The phrase “Step High, Stoop Low, Leave Your Dignity Outside” was a sort of motto for the club and emblazoned on its door. 

The organizers of this newest revival include Paul Genesius Durica, Fred Sasaki and Mairead Case, active agents in a number of creative communities and well-poised to carry the mantle, extend the rich tradition. Rather than a fixed location, this new Dil Pickle Club is an itinerant series featuring short presentations of off-beat, controversial and/or intellectual topics from a wide range of engaging guests at various venues all over town.  

So, first I made a brown paper frame to lay on each sheet of paper and demarcate a “target zone,” then sprayed in the first and last words to establish boundaries for the image area. 
I used a water-based acrylic latex spraypaint that I’ve recently fallen in love with, which can be used indoors(!) and and dries very quickly, along with a water-based poster marker. 
With the top and bottom of the image area established, I varied placement of the rest of the stencilled words, and then really enjoyed the writing. Although several are similar, no two are the same, and a few are considerably different. 
Lastly, I made a jig with a raised-letter label and rubbed a graphite stick across it to brand them as “official” Dil Pickle paraphanelia, next to which I wrote my name and the date.  
Out of 20 I set out to make, I only goofed a little bit on three of them. After delivering the good ones with the good people at the Dil Pickle event, I finished up some other work for the morning and then took a couple of the goofed-up pieces and made this playful composite for kicks. 
After weaving the strips, I cut slits and tucked the ends in tidily. 

For more about the original Dil Pickle Club, Wikipedia is good for starters, or here’s two books: 
• Mark Moscato’s Brains, Brilliancy, Bohemia: Art & Politics in Jazz-Age Chicago — Preview  |  Purchase
• Franklin Rosemont’s Rise & Fall of the Dil Pickle — Purchase

The website for the Dil Pickle Club Revival is thedilpickleclub.tumblr.com. 


Rookery Prints

Six silkscreened colors, 100lb French Whitewash Cover, 18x24” Limited edition of 70 Earlier this year I had a great experience performing an edition of prints with Sonnenzimmer, one of Chicago’s premier silkscreen shops, and after a busy season have finally vetted, signed and editioned the results — available now on my brand new electronic storefront: robfunderburk.bigcartel.com! Below are some session photos and notes. To purchase prints, go to robfunderburk.bigcartel.com. See, this wasn’t a drawing that we scanned and noodled with, or blew-up on a xerox machine or anything — the whole process was very direct and completely manual. Referring to photos and location studies, I drew what would become each separate color with black paint on a clear sheet of film laid directly on top of each preceding stage after printing. The result is a series that captures the drawing experience very directly, including discoveries along the way and very little revision or redirection of efforts. Rather than a series of reproductions of something that happened before it, each of these prints represents an original act that happened in a multitude of 70. For more info about the Rookery Building itself, see Wikipedia or therookerybuilding.com. And if you visit the Rookery, be sure to step inside and see its beautiful atrium — and in the NW corner, find the one marble-clad support column that’s open in the back to reveal the fantastic ornamental skeletal iron that’s underneath it all. To purchase prints, go to robfunderburk.bigcartel.com.

Mural at AV-Aerie for Chicago Opera Vanguard

Just completed work on a very large scenic device — “mural”, if you will — for Chicago Opera Vanguard’s production of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice, opening Thursday 1/29/09 and running Thu-Sun evenings for the next two weekends. Wouldn’t want to spoil anything by posting pictures of the work just yet, so for details about the opera visit chicagovanguard.org. Very thankful for assistance from Eliot Carney, Jeff Forsythe, Aric Henney, and Marshall Preheim in pulling this thing off, along with some additional friends who lent their time & skills. Beyond COV’s performances, the mural will serve as backdrop for a number of music shows, including Thank You + Mi Ami on 2/17/09, DRMWPN + Pillars & Tongues on 3/1/09, and some unconfirmed acts elsewhere — more news as it becomes available.

Top