“There’s a different form of dance in Baltimore where people are dancing their pain away, in spite of their circumstances. She [TT the Artist] made the most beautiful documentary I’ve seen.”
—Issa Rae, Hollywood Reporter
A fifteen-year labor of love evolves into an Issa Rae-produced, award-winning Netflix documentary.
Just over five years ago, multi-hyphenate artistic extraordinaire, TT the Artist, reached out to me to art direct and design the poster for a little film project she was working on originally described as "an experimental documentary musical about the Baltimore club music and dance culture.” It would be called Dark City: Beneath the Beat.
Her request to me was sent in July of 2017 early in the morning—around 5 a.m. (a testament to TT’s remarkable work ethic)—and as soon as I read it I said yes.
TT and I have a long history together, having first met at the Maryland Institute College of Art when we were both undergrads circa 2003. She once wrote in an exhibition guest book of mine that she’ll see me again when we are both stars. Flash forward ten years later and you’ll see us officially working together for the first time on cover art for her Art Royalty EP, and a year or two later on crazy, funky background art for her “Pum Pum” music video that, unfortunately, has yet to see the light of day.
Below, you will see the three-year evolution that this poster took from conception to completion. With every edit that we made, TT’s film was gaining more and more traction and would eventually get noticed and produced by Issa Rae. It’s a crazy story that’s not really mine to tell. What I can say is that I’m honored to have been a part of this project and couldn’t be happier with the final poster design.
This proposed design focused on a dancer's physique and a thick, puffy hand-lettered chain similar to the one worn in the documentary. It's straightforward and confrontational. The heavy chain symbolizes many things: an ownership of stereotypes; the tight-knit and powerful dance community in Baltimore; the importance and weight that dance and music have on the residents of Baltimore.
This proposed design would prominently feature the instantly recognizable Baltimore row home stoop, a place where community gathers and thrives. Dandelions would grow from the concrete as a symbol of resiliency. The mix board as row-home facade is a direct nod to what this documentary is about.
This more simplistic sketch utilizes the shape of Baltimore as a dance floor, which also doubles as a nod to hip-hop and b-boys.
This sketch lifts from the previous concept and adds a balloon to the mix. This balloon is seen in the documentary and I thought that it represented hope. Having Baltimore be the ground or weight attached to this symbol of hope gets at the core of the documentary.
Final, approved sketch incorporated a multi-portrait approach, highlighting key characters from the film, including Baltimore itself. A moon was incorporated to emphasize night-life. Edits to this sketch included nixing the Inner Harbor-like buildings in favor of row-homes and a liquor store, and making the police officer look more authoritative. The fact that he breakdances in the film is a surprise and we wanted to preserve that.
Final poster. This poster is used on some streaming interfaces, for various premiers and as the official soundtrack art.