Modern Poster Style a Winner
The bold colors and simple lines of the 1997 poster for the Common Ground Country Fair are attracting attention. “Oh, that’s really different. I really like it.” That’s how people are reacting, says Fair director Susan Pierce. “It’s a very different poster, a completely different style from anything we’ve had before,” she continues, praising the well defined colors on the tomato, sunflower, corn and peas. “Everyone likes it.”
This new style for the poster was intentional. “The work I do is pretty bold, graphic and colorful,” says poster artist Dianne Lewis of Denmark, Maine. “I thought it might draw in a wider range of people to the Fair.”
It may encourage more departures from the traditional designs that have been submitted for posters in the past, too. “Maybe it will encourage people who thought we had a prescribed style to enter in the future,” says Pierce.
Among those who were very excited about it was Liberty Graphics, which was “psyched,” says Lewis. “It’s easy to print. It’s not as detailed as more art-oriented posters.”
Lewis grew up in Sterling, Massachusetts, and received a B.S. degree from Fitchburg State in Communications Media with a specialty in graphic design. She has worked as a graphic designer for 10 years on a freelance basis, out of her house, producing marketing materials, brochures and annual reports for colleges, universities, hospitals and industries. “One reason I submitted the poster,” she says, “is that I like gardening. I could throw my whole passion into it. I can’t get involved personally with some high tech whirligig” that some industry may use her talents to market.
Lewis lives with her husband and their springer spaniel. She gardens in a big space she shares with her brother-in-law and “puts up everything.” In addition to vegetables, she’ll be raising chickens this year.
With luck, this won’t be the last work of art that MOFGA sees from Lewis. She has approached the organization with the idea of doing a 15-month calendar using old Fair posters and including gardening tips, and her suggestion is being considered.
