Mark Arminski is an American rock concert poster artist born in 1950 in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He began studying art at the

Oakland Community College Oakland Community College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college with five campuses in Oakland County, Michigan. Established in 1964, OCC is the largest community college in Michigan, with the state's third-largest undergraduate enr ...

and pursued printmaking in stone lithography at the

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts The Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (KIA) is a non-profit art museum and school in downtown Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. History In 1924, members of the Kalamazoo Chapter of the American Federation of Arts established an ...

. Rounding out his formal education was his stay at the Dynamic Graphics Education Foundation in Peoria, Illinois, where he studied computer generated art. Considered a leader in the new school of rock 'n' roll posters, Mark Arminski has painted the landscape of Detroit and beyond with his signature pieces of concert art. His first commissioned poster work was in the form of silk screens for Iggy Pop and the Smashing Pumpkins. Arminski is notable for bridging the gap between the psychedelic art of the 1960s and the grunge aesthetic of the early 1990s, and he has emerged as a genuine equal among his own mentors. While much of his work was originally found in and around Michigan, he has designed concert posters for events in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and he is regularly commissioned to design CD cover art. Arminski continues to have great influence among poster artists and his rich eye-popping designs have expanded beyond print media to body art and murals. Arminski is the official artist of th
Mackinac Island Music Festival
making a new work each season to showcase local, regional and national musicians with deep ties to Michigan. Rob Maniscalco, portrait artist and producer of Detroit Public TV show '' Art Beat'', who has interviewed Mark Arminski on his show, wrote the following words of introduction: Named "Artist of the Year" by Visions magazine, Arminski is not limited to poster art and CD covers; he is a master muralist, fine artist and body painter. He was sued by the bands

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and the

Dave Matthews Band Dave Matthews Band (also known as DMB) is an American rock band from Charlottesville, Virginia. The band's lineup consists of Dave Matthews (lead vocals, guitar), Stefan Lessard (bass), Carter Beauford (drums), Tim Reynolds (lead guitar), R ...

over claims that he sold copies of posters produced for the two bands. The lawsuits were reported in several newspapers. “I’m one of those individuals who tends to view everything with artistic merit.” —Arminski

References

Movement 2009 Limited Edition Prints Available Now!!

Mark Arminiski featured on Art Beat

San Francisco Chronicle (January 23, 1998): David vs. Goliath, The Rock Version - Modest poster artist sued by giant pop acts

Metro Times, January 7, 1998: Ill-suited art - Artists fear that a court case could be the end of the rock poster as we know it.
* Mark Arminski displays his rock poster oeuvre online
Mark Arminski Collection

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arminski, Mark American poster artists Artists from Michigan 1950 births Living people