There are so many ways to watch digital content now that it has become an exercise in memory to recall what it was like to anticipate a release date.
Stars of the screen have long been cemented in popular culture, some forever tied to iconic roles.
Can you see Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly checking his watch in “Back to the Future?” How about Mark Hamill leading a band of rebels against an evil empire as Luke Skywalker in the original “Star Wars” trilogy?
Well, there’s more remembrances where that came from when one walks back through time in “Rewind: A VHS Revival.” It’s a debut exhibit at the Orange County Fair largely dedicated to the people and processes behind the artwork of the movie poster.
A large-than-life replica of Jim Carrey from the movie “The Mask” on display at the “Rewind” exhibit at the O.C. Fair.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
After a couple of years of shows that focused on the music industry, including larger-than-life likenesses of the performing artists and then reproductions of well-known album covers, this new theme has emerged from the Art of Music Collection.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize that somebody puts in that time and energy and refines a process through working with certain materials to create an image that becomes etched in people’s memory,” said Joy Feuer, co-founder and curator of the exhibit. “It evokes going to the movies with family or friends, a date night. … On the music stuff that we did, listening to an album or remembering a concert and being there with somebody.
“It’s such a touchstone, and I think it’s so important to note that it’s not just the record companies or the movie companies that bring that to you, but it’s these human beings who create an image. They’re often not credited, and I have a huge soft spot in my heart and in my mind to bring those people into the spotlight and give them their due.”
The career of the late John Alvin is explored in “Creating the Promise of a Great Experience,” a standalone section that illustrates the steps taken to produce lasting images, such as the touching fingertips in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”
A larger-than-life poster from “The Addams Family” on display at the “Rewind” exhibit at the O.C. Fair.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Several examples of his concept art are included, among them “Aladdin,” “Batman Forever,” “Blade Runner” and the aforementioned “Star Wars.”
Alvin’s widow, Andrea, said they met in art school at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. In working with the film industry, the designer’s projects were often subject to conditions.
“Oftentimes, the most creative work comes out of the most restrictions because you’re forced to come up with something … that meets all of these requirements,” Andrea Alvin said. “In essence, that’s what illustration is. It’s not just illustration, but you have to be creative within the confines of what you are trying to say in the painting.
“I wrote a book about John called ‘The Art of John Alvin,’ … and my idea with it was to show the process, so I had everything from very rough sketches and some of our little notes and things on legal pads, all the way to finished art,” she continued. “That was what Joy really connected with, and that was what she tried to show in the exhibit.”
John Alvin’s “Batman Forever” movie poster on display in the “Rewind” exhibit at the O.C. Fair.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
In some cases, studios did not want to have the designer sign their work. In “Rewind,” Leslie Combemale, who represented Alvin’s work, sees a means of bringing recognition to the artists who contributed to the success of movies.
“This is iconic and important work artistically but also a part of the making of a film,” said Combemale, owner of ArtInsights Gallery of Film and Contemporary Art. “We want people to be more aware of that, and in general, more aware of below-the-line artists who have such an impact on the finished product of a film and how integral they are to a film’s success.”
Dawn Baillie, known for her work with “Dirty Dancing,” “Silence of the Lambs” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” also grabs the designer spotlight in an exhibit called “Anatomy of a Poster.”
Also displayed are works produced by J.C. Backings, a scenic backdrop company founded by John Harold Coakley and his son, John Gary Coakley, in 1962. Backdrops utilized in the filming of “The Sound of Music” and “Logan’s Run” are included in the show.
A larger-than-life movie poster of “Tank Girl” on display at the “Rewind” exhibit at the O.C. Fair.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
“It’s a family-run business,” Feuer said. “The great-grandfather was the one who had the vision. He saw this need, that Hollywood needed these really large-scale, hand-painted backdrops to create that cityscape, or mountain range, or whatever the scene was. They were an artistic family, so they started painting and doing it.
“They have in their possession a really vast archive, and so we rented two of their backdrops for the show, and those are the original ones. … They’re not replicas. These are exactly what the film shot certain scenes from.”
When fairgoers walk into the Huntington Beach building through the entrance on the east side, they are hit with a rush of nostalgia due to a display of videotapes on the racks.
Blossom Marshall, visiting the fair from Riverside, said the video store setup reminded her of the “Blockbuster days.” A whole section was dedicated to classic Disney animated movies.
Youngsters pretend to walk down the yellow brick road in a pop-up scene from “The Wizard of Oz” at the O.C. Fair on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Film fanatics also took advantage of opportunities to grab photos with cutouts of the crew from “The Wizard of Oz,” as well as a chance to strike a pose on the dance floor under a shimmering disco ball like John Travolta’s Tony Manero in a “Saturday Night Fever” set.
Those who wanted to get off their feet were able to collapse into chairs that appeared to have come straight from the cinema, some of which provided a front-row seat to live painting reproductions of famous movie posters.
Angel Acordagoitia spent the opening week of the fair, which runs through Aug. 17, working on “Bride of Frankenstein.” It’s his third time in the show in as many years, he remarked, reminiscing about painting album covers of Queens of the Stone Age and the Offspring the past couple of summers.
Interacting with the public comes with the territory. Acordagoitia was open to comments and questions, adding that he is always with people as a DJ, a muralist and a tattoo artist.
Guests wait to watch a live painting demonstration of “Bride of Frankenstein” in the “Rewind” exhibit at the O.C. Fair on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
“Since I was a kid, I always wanted to draw and paint,” said Acordagoitia, a Whittier resident who has branded himself as the Night Artist. “Luckily, my parents have always encouraged me. … I know it’s hard, but if you have the drive [and] make connections, that’s what you need.”
Scotty Roller, Jeff Lee and TerriLee Holm are also participating as painters of movie posters during the fair.
A stone’s throw from them is yet another interactive exhibit. Visitors to the “Magic of Matte Painting” need a partner to fully enjoy it. One can walk through a set — their movement captured on camera against a city street backdrop — while their companion takes in the full picture on another screen.
Betty Carlos of Upland, one of the vendors at the fair, called the movie-focused showcase a “nice surprise” and a refresh for returning audiences.
“It’s always lovely because they did such an amazing job, but having something new, we have a lot of season passholders who are looking for something new every time,” said Carlos, who counted a bar themed after “Moulin Rouge” among the unexpected sightings. “Therefore, having this new experience was definitely a refresher and an exciting new exhibit.”
Bob Kendrick strikes a pose made famous by John Travolta in the movie “Saturday Night Fever” at the “Rewind” exhibit on Wednesday.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
