Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Townes Van Zant, Elvis and Patsy Cline will all make an appearance in Calgary in the form of paintings in Jon Langford’s art exhibit, part of 30 Years of Folk. Celebrate the Calgary Folk Music Festival’s 30th anniversary the month of July with a multi-media installation of festival lore: photographs, video, podcasts, vintage shirts, posters and other memorabilia.
Jon designed the Festival’s much-loved 2009 poster. You may have seen his paintings at Austin’s Yard Dog, on Bloodshot Records album covers, or galleries around North America and the UK. Jon has been a constant fixture on the fringes of the music industry and art world for 30 years, happily charting his own course through the choppy waters of popular culture.
The Welsh born artist and musician, who relocated to Chicago in 1992, has a degree in fine art, where in the British art school tradition he downed brushes to co-found a band - The Mekons in 1977.
Jon returned to art-making when he arrived in America, steeping himself in printmaking, folk and tattoo art, choosing the careers and power struggles of the country musicians he loved as his initial (quasi-autobiographical) subject. The paintings (acrylic paint, pencil and marker on plywood) depicted images country and rock music icons.
"Like rabbits frozen in history's headlights, they are trapped beneath layers of nicotine and neglect. Pearl buttons still gleam as they sign their contracts and stare out of the honky-tonk shadows with glazed promo-shot grins. I thought of the paintings as songs, to me there was no difference."
Langford currently divides his time between painting, playing honky-tonk, rock ‘n’ roll and country music with The Mekons, The Waco Brothers and The Pine Valley Cosmonauts and collaborating with artists like the Sadies. His other job-descriptions include cartoonist, raconteur, political activist, low-rent record mogul, soccer Dad and co-host of a Chicago revolutionary free-form radio show.
30 Years of Folk and Jon Langford’s exhibit can be found in the community space, just below the movie theatres, in the Eau Claire Market. The exhibit is open Wednesday through Sunday the month of July between 11:00 am and 6:00 pm. Meet Jon in person Wednesday July 22 from 4-6 pm, and drop in for our special happy hour events each Thursday between 4-7 pm.
http://www.jonlangford.de/
