The raunchy, (I mean REALLY raunchy!) annual Folsom Street Fair is happening this coming Sunday, September 26 in San Francisco and I know there’s always a few Seattle sex pigs, perverts, SEXUAL SOCIOLOGISTS who like to “go down” and do a little practical “field work” during this “seminal” and very “public” event, but for the rest of us poor, pious souls that is out of the question. We can live vicariously though, through the POSTERS for the event which are always illuminating, titillating, obscene, controversial and frequently very graphically daring and artistic. (The infamous “Last Supper” poster from 2007, pictured above, caused a storm of controversy from some religious groups for being “blasphemous.”) They seem to already have an official poster for this year’s event but they are also having a contest where fans can go to the NOT VERY SAFE FOR WORK Folsom Street Fair website to vote for their favorites. So you eager beavers don’t get fired, here are pix of some of my favorite entries. (The unemployed and those working for decadent businesses like The Stranger or Amazon.com, go ahead and go and look at the site with its plethora of ads for sex masks and cock rings…)
Christopher Means has three posters to vote on…this is my favorite and I’m calling it “Black Light”. The clean graphics and contrast are very well done.
I really love the contrasts in Ian O’Phelan’s poster between the crisp comic style of the head and the romantic feel of the flowers…it’s like “Tom of Finland” got busy with Laura Ashley. It’s lush and hot!
The folk-art naivete style of John Ferrie’s work is charming and innocent and ironic considering it’s a poster for an event featuring naked men in leather boots and even leatherier old c*cks exposed to the sunny chill of a Sunday morning in San Francisco…
-Michael Strangeways
