When alumnus Seth Deitch wanted to surprise his wife with concert tickets to an Avett Brothers concert, he decided to contact the venue for possibilities of alleviating the cost of tickets using his graphic design skills to create band posters.
Deitch was forwarded to the band’s manager. The band already designed their own posters, but the manger offered Deitch discounted tickets. Later Deitch learned that the manager forwarded his name to a promoter who offered him jobs to design posters for Alison Krauss and Union Station.
“Needless to say, I was super excited (when the promoter called),” Deitch said. “It took all that I had to stay calm and act like I knew what I was doing and not blow what I thought was my only opportunity.”
Deitch graduated from Harding in 2007 with a bachelor’s in graphic design. Chair of the Department of Art and Design Daniel Adams has followed Deitch’s artwork on Instagram, and he contacted Deitch and invited him to display his posters in the Stevens Art Gallery.
“A lot of graphic design students don’t do (screen printing), but Seth has always enjoyed that and has an eye for composition … an interesting sense of humor, and a really interesting way of getting the point of course,” Adams said.
Deitch has since designed limited-edition concert posters for several well-known musicians, including Beyonce, Maroon 5 and Bon Jovi. His work will be displayed in the Stevens Art Gallery through April 24, and each piece displayed is available for students to purchase Screen-print posters vary in size and color, and his art created for music artists like Billy Joel, Journey and Red Hot Chili Peppers will be included in the show.
“It would just be a dream to be able to work with these big names,” YEAR Colton Bryan, an animation major, said. “It’s definitely really encouraging. For me, with (animation), which is a really hard industry, to see someone form Harding come into (poster design), a really hard industry, and do so well, I think, ‘Yeah, I think I can do it, too.’”
Deitch currently works as a fire inspector for a hospital in South Carolina, working with band promoters on the side. He hopes to one day open a teaching studio with friends where people can come to learn several trades, including screen-printing, welding and carpentry.
A reception for the exhibit will be held Saturday, April 15 from 10 a.m. to noon, witch a panel discussion beginning at 9:30 a.m. with Deitch and three other graphic design alumni.
“I want (the students) to know there are alumni out there who have pursued their passion and their dream and are doing quite well,” Adams said. “It’s a really exciting show and students have really, really enjoyed seeing it.”
