Jim Harter and NSS Posters
Posted: Tue Oct 05, 2010 5:56 pm
In your recent update to your website you mentioned that you got to meet with Jim Harter who was a big influence on the NSS Raconteur’s poster series. Can you finally reveal the meaning behind the posters and how Jim Harter influenced your work? There have been many theories behind the meaning but never a real explanation that I know of.
Jim Harter influenced my work simply by providing a wealth of raw material to work from via his Dover books of engravings covering a myriad of themed subjects. As to revealing the meaning (presuming you are talking about the NSS series), well, that would be telling.
I’ll play nice and for fun give a factoid on each that doesn’t spell out the story:
NSS 1: The words below the front window are “Ab cloacis ad astros” which is my horrible high school Latin paraphrasing of Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Obviously my version is more proactive in deference to the interior script from the Broken Boy Soldiers LP.
NSS2: The outfit worn by the Brixton Renegade reflects lyrics from a very popular song that actually played an important part in White Stripes history (or so I’ve read).
NSS3: As someone online pointed out, there is a reference in the printing info to the fourth bolgia (one of the pockets of sinners in the eigth circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno), which punishes those who prognosticate through unnatural means. As a result they possess heads twisted Regan MacNeil-style (i.e. they can only look backwards as punishment for trying to gaze too far forward). In a nod to this (and to indicate the purpose of the machine), I constructed it out of items that grant mankind unnatural vision (microscopes, binoculars, headlamps) and then turned the spine element backwards in relation to the skull to reflect the torment of the damned that populated the aforementioned area of Dante’s vision.
NSS4: I tried to keep terrestrial backgrounds British to honor the original UK tour poster these characters came from. In this case it’s London seen in the background.
NSS5: Here Manchester provides the background due in part to its reputation for industrial bleakness (the original engraving actually features all that smoke over the buildings). The city fit with the character of the Skeleton King who obviously has a Baron Harkonen sort of love affair with industry . Remember the original UK tour poster features the Mancunian Diablo who sports the alchemical lead symbol found on many of the Skeleton King’s creations. I therefore decided to make the Diablos into actual creations of the Skeleton King).
NSS6: The cosmic energies revealed by the dial settings read as “Yin Earth Rabbit” and identify the birth year (to the best of my ability in determining Chinese Horoscopes) of the Skeleton King (or the historical identity I attached to the character). I kept my calculations cautious as the real person has a birthday in February (a month where generally shit changes for the Chinese Zodiac).
Here’s another one for fun. On the skeleton’s left shoulder blade, one can find an I Ching hexagram familiar to those poring over the poster for Memphis.
NSS7: I intentionally flipped the Dore background engraving depicting the Creation of Light as a simple black hat/white hat reflection of the characters occupying the area of light and the area of darkness.
NSS8: Whereas the lead alchemy symbol on machinery found in the series indicates it’s ownership, the various symbols here indicate the ownership of the deep-sea collection equipment. I nearly went over the top and used the World Enterprises Corporation logo, but I figured one “Man Who Fell to Earth” film reference was enough within the series (see if you can find it in NSS2)
NSS9: I will keep this one short. Here is what mainly inspired the imagery as it fit in with the symbology and story I’d already worked out:
_ HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egfRZaKV ... re=related" __http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egfRZaKVx0M&feature=related_
at around 44 seconds.
Jim Harter influenced my work simply by providing a wealth of raw material to work from via his Dover books of engravings covering a myriad of themed subjects. As to revealing the meaning (presuming you are talking about the NSS series), well, that would be telling.
I’ll play nice and for fun give a factoid on each that doesn’t spell out the story:
NSS 1: The words below the front window are “Ab cloacis ad astros” which is my horrible high school Latin paraphrasing of Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.” Obviously my version is more proactive in deference to the interior script from the Broken Boy Soldiers LP.
NSS2: The outfit worn by the Brixton Renegade reflects lyrics from a very popular song that actually played an important part in White Stripes history (or so I’ve read).
NSS3: As someone online pointed out, there is a reference in the printing info to the fourth bolgia (one of the pockets of sinners in the eigth circle of hell in Dante’s Inferno), which punishes those who prognosticate through unnatural means. As a result they possess heads twisted Regan MacNeil-style (i.e. they can only look backwards as punishment for trying to gaze too far forward). In a nod to this (and to indicate the purpose of the machine), I constructed it out of items that grant mankind unnatural vision (microscopes, binoculars, headlamps) and then turned the spine element backwards in relation to the skull to reflect the torment of the damned that populated the aforementioned area of Dante’s vision.
NSS4: I tried to keep terrestrial backgrounds British to honor the original UK tour poster these characters came from. In this case it’s London seen in the background.
NSS5: Here Manchester provides the background due in part to its reputation for industrial bleakness (the original engraving actually features all that smoke over the buildings). The city fit with the character of the Skeleton King who obviously has a Baron Harkonen sort of love affair with industry . Remember the original UK tour poster features the Mancunian Diablo who sports the alchemical lead symbol found on many of the Skeleton King’s creations. I therefore decided to make the Diablos into actual creations of the Skeleton King).
NSS6: The cosmic energies revealed by the dial settings read as “Yin Earth Rabbit” and identify the birth year (to the best of my ability in determining Chinese Horoscopes) of the Skeleton King (or the historical identity I attached to the character). I kept my calculations cautious as the real person has a birthday in February (a month where generally shit changes for the Chinese Zodiac).
Here’s another one for fun. On the skeleton’s left shoulder blade, one can find an I Ching hexagram familiar to those poring over the poster for Memphis.
NSS7: I intentionally flipped the Dore background engraving depicting the Creation of Light as a simple black hat/white hat reflection of the characters occupying the area of light and the area of darkness.
NSS8: Whereas the lead alchemy symbol on machinery found in the series indicates it’s ownership, the various symbols here indicate the ownership of the deep-sea collection equipment. I nearly went over the top and used the World Enterprises Corporation logo, but I figured one “Man Who Fell to Earth” film reference was enough within the series (see if you can find it in NSS2)
NSS9: I will keep this one short. Here is what mainly inspired the imagery as it fit in with the symbology and story I’d already worked out:
_ HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egfRZaKV ... re=related" __http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egfRZaKVx0M&feature=related_
at around 44 seconds.
