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Flatstock at Pitchfork post III: In the Crosshair

Another Flatstock exhibitor, Crosshair silkscreen printing and design, is run by Chicagoan Daniel Macadam. Amidst all the great work at Flatstock, Daniel’s work caught my eye. In particular, the poster he created to promote an Iron & Wine and Calexico show at the Congress Theatre strikes me as particularly well done. The imagery calls to mind industry, agriculture and railroads all it once, and speaks to a bygone era in which urban areas relied on all three forces. With this piece, Daniel tapped into strains of Americana that pervade the music of Iron & Wine and Calexico, evoking an emotion in the viewer akin to what he or she might expect to experience at the bands’ performance.

What intrigued me most about the picture was the structure at its heart. What IS that thing? I wondered. A grain elevator? A coal storatge silo? It reminded me of a structure near the railroad tracks that ran behind my old place of business, at which I would stare and experience some of the same emotions I outlined above, without knowing exactly what it was.

I emailed the artist to ask him to solve the mystery once and for all, and Daniel confirms that the structure illustrated in his poster is indeed a grain elevator. In fact, it’s the very elevator that had captivated me at my old place of business. According to Daniel, the elevator is owned by Archer Daniels Midland and serves the company’s experimental lab. A coal bunker, it turns out, looks little like a grain elevator. As evidence, take Daniel’s poster promoting a show by Tom Verlaine of Television. For both works, Daniel cites the photoraphic work of Bernd and Hella Becher as “a huge influence.”

Thanks to Daniel for his fine work, and for answering questions that had been knocking about in my head for years.