With ‘The Silent Aviary II’ (a continuation of The Silent Aviary show held at The Vacvvm headquarters in Minneapolis in 2016) Putnam, Horkey, and company gave the artists the topic Birds of Texas as a starting point, and from gig poster artist Ken Taylor and illustrator Tom Whalen to traditional fine artists Vanessa Foley and Ken Garduno the exhibit showed how a single reference point can be a tool to showcase the core of an individual artist.

Illustrator Brian Ewing uses the history of design and illustration as a tool. He keeps an intelligent eye on his influences, exploring new ways of connecting his work into the storied lineage of poster work.

There is a level of accepted fakery in opera — the castle and cave on stage, the creatures and day for night, all take place on a stage with lighting and a crew of hundreds bringing the world of the composer to life. Burton understands this and does not attempt to create the reality of the narrative, but of the opera itself. There is magic in The Magic Flute and Mr. Burton composed it all delicately on an 18″ x 24″ sheet of heavy paper.

Quintana’s ‘Drop‘ is a colored version of his drawing turned into a limited edition print. In color, the drama is beautified and fearless. Again, Quintana stayed away from a picture accurate portrayal of Milla Jovovich, the actress in the role, but instead stayed true to writer/director Luc Besson’s intention behind the character. She is fearless, highly-intelligent, and of course, beautiful. Quintana translates Besson’s vision perfectly, that of Leloo, the one true perfect being.

“The simpler the design gets, the more complicated the act of printing can become. Big flat shapes of color with no modulation require a steady hand. With a lot of our more minimal prints the artifice is in the way the layers come together, and if the elements are off-register the illusion of the print is ruined.”

– Melissa Buchanan