3-25-03  Phish announced summer tour dates today.  See the list here.  

3-19-03  While everyone is trying to fill in their collections with posters from this latest tour, a few real rarities have been offered for sale privately by longtime collectors and on Ebay.  I know of a Walking Fish, a UIC '98  and a Europe '96 all by Pollock that are up for sale. All are in the $4000-$7000 range.    

Tom Davis has put up a nice stats page based on Phish poster info he has collected from Ebay and other sources.  He seems to have also figured out how to build a good trading board, which is accessible after you create an account.  The site can be a little confusing to navigate, but overall its well worth checking out

Check out the latest addition to the Pollock art collection.  This is one I've never seen before, circa 1993.

2-26-03  A real nice image of the Pollock UIC '98 poster was emailed to me.  Thanks go to Todd at RobotWent.com for the image.  This poster recently was up for bid on ebay, and closed at $5555.  This about the same price as what the Pollock Great Wents were going for during the Hiatus.  It would be curious to see what the Went prints would sell for in today's market.

The Search at Ebay function has been expanded to include other Phish memorabilia like Phish shorts, hats, stubs, etc. as well as Phish venues and specific posters.  Bugs in the navigation section at the top of each page have also been fixed.

2-9-03  A new Jim Pollock archive has been added which includes his non-phish prints.  Behind each thumbnail is a high-res image. I will be adding the Hemp prints and others shortly..

2-1-03  A new Search at Ebay page is online. My goal over the next few weeks is to have dozens of Phish and poster related search terms in one page so that users can thoroughly search the Ebay database without doing a lot of typing.

1-27-03  There are still quite a few sets of  Phish's Pollock Holiday cards.  They come 8 to a box for a mere $12 plus shipping.  Considering what Pollock posters are selling for, I'm amazed that they are still around.  While the lady from Dry Goods said it looked like there were over 600 sets left, she sis not have access from her computer to the precise number  left.  I would estimate that 1000-1500 sets were printed.  Get them while you still can at Phish Dry Goods.

There is also a new set of Ryan Kerrigan prints.  You can order them by emailing the artist. Here is an image of his latest set of 10 which cost $100/set or $15 each.

1-26-03  I hope you like our new front page layout.  In addition to all the old features, a new section has been added for your convenience.   You may now select from a list of predefined Phish Poster searches at Ebay.  This should save you some time when searching for rare posters to buy.

1-23-03  A few new images were added to the archive.   Click on years with a "*" to see the latest ones.

1-18-03  I finally received two of the three Hamptons from this latest run. I absolutely love the color schemes and images portrayed.  The first print seems to symbolize the act of flying into the New Year with the angelic flying Phishes.  The second has clear political overtones with the all- seeing eye placed in the center of the pyramid rather than at the top as on a normal US dollar. For me, the butterfly in the third print symbolizes our hope for better times ahead as we move through this unsettling period in history.  Of course, your mileage may vary.    

With all due respect, though, I wish Mr. Pollock would make at least a few Phish prints the old way, perhaps a run of 100 or 250.  The fact that he printed his earlier works with his own hands gave each one a unique character.  I have some with Jim's fingerprints on the back, some with off-center registration, and some with other pleasing "defects" that seem to add to the general beauty and simplicity of this modern day folk art.  Just like antique quilts, carvings, and folk paintings, the subjects in these prints are personal interpretations of the hopes and dreams of the artist as well as those of the intended audience.  Being handmade with tender loving care and devotion, they also show the artists skill and experience at his/her craft. Something seems to be missing from these prints which are printed by a machine at a third party. 

Jim has stated to me in the past that doing a full run of Phish prints manually was no less than exhausting, and obviously a labor of love.    But isn't that what art is all about?  I would think that great artists like Da Vinci, and Michelangelo were both mentally and physically exhausted after they completed a work.   

Yet I can't put my finger on exactly why I'm not as thrilled as I usually am with these new prints.  Looking at my White Tape on the wall, I see that the color registration is good, and the ink is very, very thick.   My Gorge #423 is also very thick, yet the colors are slightly off center and it has that handmade look.  My Hamptons are perfect, except for the fact that the ink was a little thin.  The 1/3/03 prints all seem to be very light in the middle, but perhaps this is part of the design.   In any case, I suspect I will warm up to these prints, as I love the images and color schemes.  

A discussion on Posterpeople is raging about whether to start a database of known prints.  This is probably only worth doing for the two Great Went prints from 1997, and perhaps the UIC '98 print.  For this reason I have started compiling the list of Known Great Went Prints . To verify each entry, I will need a photograph of the complete print which clearly shows the signature and serial number.  Alternatively you can email me the number in which case I will list it as unconfirmed. When I am on tour this summer, I will offer free certificates of authenticity and (maybe) appraisals for anyone wishing to bring their prints to my hotel room.  Hopefully this may work for the folks wishing to get insurance on their valuable prints. 

Regarding my previous column, my fellow web developer Matt was released from the hospital yesterday, and it seems that he will be making a full recovery.   Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

1-12-03  Please say a prayer for one of our web site developers who was involved in a terrible car wreck this morning about 4:00am EST.   He has not regained conciousness yet and is on life support.  Matt McKeon is just 18 and due to constant exposure to Phish's music as we drove in to work together, he was quickly becoming a big fan.  In fact, he bought his first Phish poster (Hampton 1/2/03) from Dry Goods this past Friday.  Come on Matt, you need to hang in there so you can actually see the band in concert.

1-11-03  A few dozen NYE and Hampton prints went up for sale on Friday.  Lucky early callers were able to buy one NYE plus one each of the first two nights at Hampton.   Keep that in mind the next time the band comes off tour.

1-7-03  Some fake (reproduction) '89 prints have surfaced on Ebay.  Both of these "posters" were printed from computer images that were taken from the Mike Rowe poster collection. A few years back he told me that  these were actually "colored" versions of his original 1989 black and white prints.   Buyer beware. 

Over the years, we saved higher resolution images of certain posters, and during the hiatus, we upgraded our internet connection to a full T1. Now that our connection has been upgraded, we will be adding these images to the archive as time permits.   Enjoy!

1-5-03  The oldest phish poster yet documented has been added to the new 1986 page.  While not the most attractive poster ever, it is from Phish's bar band days and advertises a gig at Hunts in Burligton on 10/15/86.  Here is the full size image. Thanks to the kind brother who sent me a photo of it during the hiatus. BTW, we still need "flat" images of all four 2003 posters.  If you have them , please email them to me.

1/4/03  Posters for all four of Phish's Post-Hiatus gigs were created.  As stated in my delayed column published on 12/16/02, the Pollocks were at Hampton.  I have not seen any images except of the NYE print which was done by Scott Campbell in a limited editon of 1000. The Pollock prints are rumored to be editions of 750.  Details and pics to follow.

Also, the first Phish Poster Convention happened on 1/2/02 in Hampton, VA.  If anyone has any reports from this event, I'd be interested in hearing about it.  Here is a copy fo the invite I received, albeit too late for pre-show publication.

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I am pleased to be hosting the inaugural Best Poster Convention in Hampton Virginia on Jan. 3rd from noon-4pm. You are invited to attend this special event.

Artist to appear : Ryan Kerrigan, Jen Anzalone, Jason Kaczorowski and the works of AJ Masthay.

Every piece from Pollock's gallery will be on display including the Went Prints, UIC and Europe 96

Shawn Hughes
www.bestaftershow.com
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