ETDC MondoCon Edition: The Dude Designs

 

One of the first images released prior to this year’s MondoCon was the official show poster. MondoCon is a celebration of art, music, and film curated by the Mondo Gallery, the boutique poster arm of Austin’s own Alamo Drafthouse. The poster highlights the key element to what the convention is all about — the artists.

The poster depicts each artist at this year’s convention in the manner of Walter Hill‘s 1979 gang film ‘The Warriors‘ as painted by David Jarvis for the film’s theatrical release. The MondoCon 2015 poster captures the same classic feel of Jarvis’ original painting, a slab of vibrant realism that was a hallmark of ’70s cinema. Tom Hodge, AKA ‘The Dude Designs,’ is the artist behind the Mondo homage and an ardent believer and cheerleader of the world of vintage home video art. Hodge’s catalog of work is a throwback to the early days of VHS culture — big clamshell cases depicting unreal scenes that may or may not have happened in the films they are pitching. In true video store fashion, the official MondoCon 2015 poster is digitally printed on that staple of ’80s movie posters, the flimsy sheet of shiny paper meant to be taped to a store window or tacked up in a teenager’s bedroom.

In 2015 Hodge released ‘VHS Cover Art: 1980s to Early 1990s,’ a book that chronicles the world that influenced him, visiting hidden gems of video cover art. As The Dude Designs, Hodge acts as a torchbearer, leading the rebirth of that time when art was fun and bold, unafraid to showcase explosions, blood, big breasts, and even bigger guns. Hodge’s poster for the 2011 film ‘Hobo with a Shotgun‘ showcases Hodge’s absolute grasp of the outrageous and manic storytelling that made ’80s VHS design so gripping.