To accompany the IFC Center’s inspired midnight movie series “Base Instincts: Verhoeven in the U.S.A.” I wanted to find something pretty special. Verhoeven’s Hollywood posters are all iconic and effective and way too well known (scroll to the bottom if you need a refresher). And with the exception of the superbly trashy painted posters for Flesh + Blood they are all very much of a kind. Even the Polish poster for Robocop (“Superglina”) is not particularly interesting, at least by Polish poster standards. But a year ago Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse Cinema commissioned this superb Robocop poster from illustrator Tyler Stout. With his original designs for, among others, The Warriors, The Big Lebowski, Inglourious Basterds, Blade Runner, The Thing and Verhoeven’s Total Recall, Stout has become the art star of the Alamo. His intricate, crowded, multi-character canvases are instantly recognizable with their vector art updating of the style of Drew Struzan’s more populous canvases. Though Stout often works on a computer, the Robocop poster was completely hand drawn in one piece. What makes this poster extra-special though is the ultra-limited edition printed on a sheet of metal, which of course makes perfect sense. Only 35 were made and sold for $400 a piece.
Stout’s screen prints can be purchased from Poster Cabaret, or his own website, though they sell out quickly. And you can read interviews with him here and here.
