ART DECO WEEKEND

The Poster

This year’s Art Deco Weekend poster was created by Philip Brooker, an artist based in Key Biscayne, FL who works in several media and styles — in addition to painting, he frequently incorporates photographs, found objects, and words into his work. He also makes furniture and is a prolific illustrator. Brooker is art director of the Miami Herald, and was for many years art director of Tropic, the Herald’s Sunday magazine.

The 2007 poster is a collage of many images, some found and some drawn, and incorporates multiple scenes and perspectives, which is the approach Brooker takes in most of his illustration work. The poster is divided into halves that mirror each other; the left side represents the West and the right side the East, with a compass in the center.

Brooker spent several weeks researching Art Deco images relevant to Miami and Shanghai. “I have a new appreciation of Art Deco graphics after so much research,” he says. “Some of those products — and especially the packaging and graphics — were absolutely beautiful.”

Elements in the poster were assembled from many sources: the Chinese tree is from Art Deco–era Chinese wallpaper, the palm tree is from a travel poster, the buildings along the bottom are images Brooker drew over photographs of Art Deco buildings in Miami and Shanghai, the Miami ocean and the compass are hand-drawn, and the borders are colorized Art Deco–era graphics.

It took several attempts to find the best translator for the Chinese lettering on the poster, which represents this year’s Art Deco Weekend theme. “Apparently there’s no way to literally say ‘East Meets West’ in Chinese,” says Brooker. “The closest you can get is ‘There’s East and there’s West and they can meet.’ ” Brooker used the website craigslist to find translators, eventually settling on a professor of Chinese and English from Shanghai who now lives in Florida.

Brooker’s illustrations have appeared in many print publications and advertising campaigns. His clients include Random House, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, CNN, Time Warner, and many others.

For the past several years he has been exploring ways to incorporate photography into his fine art. He tends to work in series, most of which are inspired by words and are concerned with recording and exploring moments in history. Currently a major focus is a series inspired by letters from World War I soldiers. Brooker’s fine art has been exhibited worldwide, including shows at the New Lane Gallery and the Leeds Museum of Art in England; Hochman Jacobson Gallery, the Drawing Center, and the Holly Solomon Gallery in New York; and Galerie Climate in Paris. For more information, visit his websites at www.anicecupoft.com (illustrations and furniture) and www.philipbrooker.com(fine art).

Philip Brooker will sign posters during Art Deco Weekend at the Art Deco Weekend Booth, located at 10th Street and Ocean Drive. The poster is available online and from the MDPL Art Deco Gift Shop, as are t-shirts, tote bags, and decorative wall tiles with the poster image.