How great are these blues portraits?
From Homegrown:
By the 1970s Austin was a prime destination for the great blues performers. The Armadillo World Headquarters, the Ritz Theatre, and Antone’s featured the blues on their stages on any given night. Portraiture was a consistent feature of blues concert posters throughout the decade, culminating in the posters produced by Danny Garrett for Antone’s, the club that cemented Austin’s reputation as a blues town. Danny Garrett notes that Antone’s owner, Clifford Antone, “absolutely prescribed that every poster be a portrait.” Antone demanded respectful portraits that were free of exaggeration or comic touches. Garrett explains the process of acquiring source material for portraits: “When we did do portraits, whether it be a bust shot or full figure, we always strived to get something other than publicity stills that their [the musicians’] management would hand out because these were common currency. So that’s why we would turn to people like [Austin-based photographer] Burton Wilson, who was extremely helpful and accommodating.” Jim Franklin’s adaptations of Wilson’s photograph of Big Joe Williams are strong examples of this exchange among local visual artists.