NEAR WEST SIDE — Long are the days of holding up signs for your favorite concert performer — at least at Pitchfork Music Festival, where this year ultra-meta handmade signs took over.
Created by Chicago artist and Columbia College graduate Don't Fret, who was making the signs live at a booth in the festival's Coterie Craft Fair, the posters depict cartoons and phrases that read more like a diary omission than concert swag.
Designs ranged from taking the poster at face value ("Express yourself with other peoples' self-expression!"), to poking fun of hipster culture ("Missing from your life: Steady income; Good line of credit; Verifiable achievements; Neck tattoo") to more reflective ("When I was a child I thought I knew everything;" "Someday I will say to hell with it all and float away.").
A spokeswoman for the artist said there was no particular plan or meaning behind the signs, and Don't Fret was creating them "as they flow" over the 3-day festival weekend.
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Dozens of festival-goers were seen carrying the signs as they walked around and congregated near stages.
Don't Fret is well-known around Chicago for his pop-up work in Wicker Park, as well as wheat paste characters he places on streets and buildings throughout the city, including a wheat paste that advertised "Wicker Park, now with more brunch options" and an installment near Schiller and Damen avenues that tells passersby to respect their elders.
In 2015, he created a cover for Time Out Chicago's print edition. He also created art for Publican Quality Meats.
[DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
[DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
[DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
[DNAinfo/Linze Rice]
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