Mondo Poster Gallery Show Celebrates Films Of Richard Linklater Ahead Of New Movie ‘Everybody Wants Some’

Today, we are awash in nostalgia (it’s so saleable!), but much of it is fossilized, the savoriness leeched out, like those McDonald’s hamburgers people saved for 20 years. That’s not the case in Richard Linklater movies, which breathe new life into past experiences. It’s also not true of Mondo posters, who succeed so often because they don’t simply repackage nostalgia. A Mondo poster isn’t a Blu-ray cover or marketing gimmick. Their best work captures the feelings you get from watching a beloved film. Mondo will reveal brand new posters celebrating the films of Richard Linklater at the Mondo Gallery with their exhibit No Longer / Not Yet: A Tribute To Richard Linklater.

We spoke with Mondo creative director and co-founder Mitch Putnam about the upcoming show and its special connection to Austin, Texas.

“We've always been really big fans of his and we've always felt that he's a really big part of the Austin film community. This is something we've always wanted to do,” Putnam told iDigitalTimes.

“It’s a really nice, cohesive collection that I think really speaks to what Richard Linklater has done in the world of film and we kind of tried to approach it the same way,” Putnam said. “Each film we tried to focus on the small, personal elements.”

It’s Putnam’s hope that the exhibit will have special significance for Austin residents. Linklater was born in Texas and founded the Austin Film Society in 1985 with frequent collaborator, cinematographer Lee Daniel. They shot Slacker, Dazed and Confused and Boyhood together in and around Austin.

“When we approached the artists, we tried to really get across the fact that we definitely want this show to feel very Austin,” Putnam said. “I think you'll see in some of the work, especially some of the films that are more closely associated with Austin, like Slackers I think that you'll see that the artist has taken a lot of imagery that should resonate with residents and people that feel close to Austin.”

Of course, Linklater’s work has resonated far outside of Texas. As a project, Boyhood was one of the more titanic endeavors in movie history, but as a viewing experience it’s so delicate that we want to hold our breath. Each moment is packed with meaning, unfolding into a full map of living and growing experience.

Linklater’s work often innovates in style and form. It may be most obvious in his rotoscoped movies Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, but so many of his movies are revolutionary in less obvious ways. Most movie character conversations are adaptations that translate the way we actually talk into a cinematic shorthand, but Before Sunrise is brave enough to let the full living, breathing lifespan of a real conversation spool out. That it captures the birth of love is even more astounding.

Linklater worked closely with Mondo on the show.

“Before we went to the studios for approval we sent everything to him first,” Putnam said. “We've been really lucky that he's been excited about it and has been a pretty active part of what people will be seeing in the show.”

“Unlike most of our gallery shows this show will be just posters. We usually try to do some original art in our shows as well,” Putnam said.

Mondo began branching out from screenprinted movie posters into original artwork with the opening of Mondo Gallery in 2012.

“But for this one we really felt the best way to pay tribute to the films was to make as many official movie posters for the films as we could,” Putnam said.

Austin will be able to check out Mondo’s new posters for Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight, Bernie, Dazed and Confused, A Scanner Darkly, Linklater’s new movie Everybody Wants Some and more, beginning at 7 p.m. March 12 at Mondo Gallery, 4115 Guadalupe Street.