Poster title : Speed America
Show : Ben Harper at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles - September 09, 2000
Original release date : October 2000
Dimensions : 26"x17"
Media : Silkscreen Print
Edition : Handsigned series of only 93 prints total
Art & Concept : Speed! 2000

Additional notes: The 3 remaining prints have MINOR smoke damage on the bottom lip of the poster, from the fire that destroyed my art studio.

The story behind the poster : "This is the sequel to the poster I did in 99 for Ben. It's a metaphor for the elevation and the ideology of the oppressed in America. The Japanese style rising sun design and kung fu pose rendered in fully American red white and blue is meant to suggest a generation of free thinkers, not locked into the jingoism and hatred of our ugly past. It's not true.....yet."
"The hand drawn Japanese/American flag provides a great background for our kung fu superman."
"Although I use halftones constantly, this is my first to deviate on size and width of patterns. The result? Pretty fucking trippy my friend."

Poster title : Mexico City
Show : Ben Harper at County Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA - May 29, 1999
Original release date : April 2000
Dimensions : 11"x17"
Media : REPRINT OF A SOLD OUT EDITION
Edition : Handsigned series
Art & Concept : Speed! 1999

The story behind the poster : "My favorite moment in my young memory was the US track team in 1968 at the Mexico City Olympics. To show their disgust with post-ww II America, they made a statement on the medal stand. Each bowed his head and raised a black gloved fist as the anthem played. My image is meant to be an update on how much "black" america and "white america" have begun to blend in peace, especially in my (1970-1977 birth) generation."

from squaresville.com website (2000) — "A Brief History of Speed: Poster Artist, Art Director, creator of Squaresville.com and the Speedlab. by Jenny Anykind : "With his 28th birthday arriving, poster artist amd interactive designer Speed has finally begun to become a property of excited art followers around the world. His explosive, hand drawn posters are unique for their depth of message and for their lack of "found" read:stolen art. In 1999 he released "1968" a racial statement masquerading as a Ben Harper poster. The poster became a touchstone for the urban undergrounds of several countries. Most critics agree that Speed's focus lends him to reach deeper into political and racial issues more so than any artist since Warhol. But Warhol never had the internet, or Squaresville, the site created by Speed in 1992. So now Speed is being hailed as the first punk rock cult hero worth a damn to arise from the internet. His bold use of the seemingly tired medium of poster art has revitalized the medium, giving it a credibility it hasn't had since pre-World War II. Starting in Spring 2001, Speed will be gearing up for his first solo gallery tour through America. Until then he'll be kicking out the philosophy, posters, and the jams for his nearly 6,000 visitors per day."

The Stat Sheet for Speed: Name: Speed Scott Hall — Age: 28 — Birth: Bonifay, Alabama. Dirt poor but a happy little redneck nonetheless. Urban schooling in New Orleans during the 80s reformed Speed's mind on the depth of racial inequality. This would eventually become an underlying theme ala "david vs goliath" in many of his pieces. — Star Status: Not only makes revolutionary poster art with the praises of rock's elite underground, but runs with them through Hollywood with his own version of the rat pack, "thespeedlab." — Education: Bachelors Degree, Finance — Masters Degree, pimpology — Started: Making posters for the legendary Covered Dish for bands like Superchunk and drivin n cryin. Moved to LA after promoters Goldenvoice made him their next star poster artist (previous include Coop and Kozik.) — Family Status: Single with two older.

Influences : Many of them are musical, with Speed trying to replicate and expand on their music in a visual sense. Some are statesmen, like the reverend Martin Luther King Jr. or Jimmy Carter. Art influences run from the obvious of Stan Lee, Andy Warhol, American advert design during the mechanical age and Lichtenstein to the more obscure like Rene Magritte.
Goals: A Picasso for this century? The Bo Jackson of creative media? Yeah, that's long term, maybe six months from now. Short term goals, well, I'm releasing a full line of clothes next month, working on tons of non-concert AND concert designs, running my web site and working with a new band, so goals aren't needed. I would like more gallery exposure in LA, that might be fun. Really, I just want to keep strenthening the revolution I have started.


--- Speed (aka Scott Hall) passed away in January 2004 at the age of 33 ---