Art of Thai movie posters at Palm Springs fest

Showing concurrently with the Palm Springs International Film Festival is the exhibition, Eyegasm: The Art of Thai Movie Posters by Swank Modern Design.

Here's more about it from a press release:

"Thai illustrators used still photos as source materials," explains curator John Goss, photographer for the book, Very Thai: Everyday Popular Culture. "They arranged those disembodied characters and scenes into a seething galaxy of graphic invention that stand alone as works of art, independent of the quality of the actual films."

The posters are jam-packed with action, saturated with color and highlight often bizarre imagery designed to sell tickets for films ranging from international hits like Apocalypse Now, Tron and Dr. No, to home grown Asian ghost epics and kung-fu action flicks.

"Being twice removed from the movies they depict," adds Goss, "Thai movie posters always look like they are trying to explode out of the frame and into your dreams."

The show features work by some of Thailand's master graphic artists, like Tongdee and Piak Poster, whose rainbow hues and dynamic visual compositions owe more to the world of comic art than they do to Hollywood publicity factories.

Film editor and collector, Mike Wright, lent prized pieces of his collection to the exhibition.
"Colorful, imaginative, and always in motion...nothing beats the lure of a Thai movie poster," Wright enthuses.

Check the gallery website for details on when to view the works.

As far as Thai films at the Palm Springs fest, running January 5 to 16, they have Kongdej Jatruranrasamee's bit of quirk, P-047, which was a favorite of other festivals last year, and hopefully Bangkok will get to see it this year.