Black Swan is no ugly duckling.

First off… Not gonna lie, kind of a disturbing movie but there was something about it that you couldn’t help but want to see more.  I watched it with some friends while abroad and I think when the show was over we all had the same overall feeling of uneasiness.  But it was really good.  I think the same can be said of the artwork that accompanies the movie.  Check out the poster artwork that was developed for this latest Blockbuster – must have been a really cool project to work on!  Review the pieces, think about the questions below in your head and if you want to leave feedback I’d like to hear you thoughts – remember art is very subjective but this is just great work.  I REAL dig this style.

Poster 1

You’ll notice a common trend throughout with the use of negative space. What do you notice right away? what comes to you after?

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Poster 2

First impression? What emotion is triggered? Did you notice the switch from one feeling to another?

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Poster 3

Awesome. If you’ve seen the show you’ll know that this particular piece summarizes the entire story of the character.  An epic struggle she endured from the beginning to the final curtain call.  My only (minor) critique is I think the typeset is too heavy.  Agree or Disagree?

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Poster 4

Who would have thought basic geometry could be so compelling? Colour symbolism is strong throughout all of these.  Here’s what we artists know about colour and how best to use them: All of these posters predominately feature RED, BLACK, and WHITE (well, more like a cream…) anyway did you know that Red is symbolic for power and aggression, intensity and passion? Black symbolizes fear, evil, often times death. Lastly, the colour White is seen as reverence, purity, good. It’s all about balance.  Interested in learning more about colour theory? Wiki has the answers here – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory

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Poster 5

Photoshop is an amazing tool.  Good use of motion blur, those feathers really feel like they’re floating.  Although this piece is a photo manipulation and not necessarily a line drawing as before, we still see our familiar colour palette.  Completely different style but ties together nicely.  If you’ve never seen the movie, based on the imagery what story does it tell?

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Poster 6

Symmetry. Perfection. Black Swan. Gives you the creeps?

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So I say to you all – go to your nearest vendor and pick up a copy of this film, you’ll have a greater appreciation for the pieces above after seeing it. Kudos to the designers and artists who had the idea/vision and made it their own.

Until next time…
BS

4 Comments
  • Dennis Ramdeen

    26 January, 2011, 2:45 am

    Poster 4 looks like d’Guardian angel symbol of d’Guardian…these pieces to me are good but not great…it looks like the artist started out with the end in mind and that caused it to lose some of its “art”, dr

  • Aisha Williams

    26 January, 2011, 6:45 pm

    I love these posters. I’d saved them on the computer to do a blog post myself! I like poster 1 best as the dancer is emerging from the Black Swan, but she’s emerging in multiple – like multiple personalities – which echoes what happens in the movie.

    I understand they style they were going for – its like old school Russian posters – lots of black and simple stark shapes, no white but a faded yellow colour…

  • Bjorn Stodart

    27 January, 2011, 1:28 am

    I love them too Aisha and just happened across them the other night and felt the need to share. They have a definitive style to them and are strong on their own but especially effective as a set.

  • Taheera

    30 January, 2011, 8:33 pm

    I think this is a movie with a respect for ART as shown not only in these posters but in the pictures painted in the movie as well. Great use of color as symbolism; white, black, grey for each stage of her mental detrioration and transformation to the black swan. Not alot of red in the movie though..Any thoughts on why this would have been such a strong colour for the movie posters? I know red usually symobilises blood or life…