-By Kate Bartlett-
You may recognize the artist’s name Don Keller from the design of the Music is Art festival poster for this 2022 season, but there’s so much more behind this name. A true artist and avid supporter of the arts, Don has been involved with the Music is Art foundation since its inception 20 years ago. His extensive background includes ad design for major corporations, Art Director, and design work for independent artists. His art has been featured on several posters and newspaper covers, including ArtVoice.
Don is originally from Buffalo, spending his early life in the shadow of the central terminal. His interest in art was sparked in the West Seneca (East) school systems and he studied Fine Art at UB and Commercial Art at Bryant & Stratton, before computers. He worked in ad design for local newspapers before starting his early career as a designer for Steve James Design. Don decided to take a break (sort-of) from art to open a night club on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo called the Adventure Club. After the club closed, he returned to the advertising agency world as the Art Director for Moog Advertising, until he decided to branch out on his own 12 years ago. “Somewhere along that road I started doing design work for bands like Deep Purple, Marilyn Manson, Goo Goo Dolls and a host of other local and independent artists. I also did a bunch of Artists and Models Affair posters and the annual ArtVoice Halloween cover back when both were still around.”
Don has been involved with the Music is Art festival as an exhibiting artist since its inception 20 years ago. “Back then, it was really just a big party of friends and a handful of artists* that just hung their work on the chain link fence that ran along the property line of Robby’s first recording studio on Franklin Street. Down the road as it grew and became a real festival, I took over coordinating the exhibiting and live artists. I did the poster for the very first “party” and have now been doing the posters for over a decade, having collaborated on a couple previous to that with NYC artist and former Buffalonian Karl Kotas. There’s usually never a particular inspiration in my design of these for MiA, just the goal to make them vivid, eye catching and really cool.”
Don is currently working on MiA animation for the festival which will run throughout Riverworks on dozens of screens as well as on the outdoor nighttime projections. “Besides the original music, exhibiting and live artists, all the video art is original and programmed throughout the venue by festival artists.” He gains inspiration from his studio by surrounding himself with creative pieces. “I have a lot of cool stuff that I can look at, or just turn my head in a different direction and see something that often sparks an idea.” He’ll often create two or three versions of a project before being satisfied with the final piece.
As a true artist, Don believes only you can cultivate your own style. “Your style can only be shaped by yourself, but all my previous bosses / mentors gave me the freedom, opportunity and time to allow me to find and develop my own. Bob Witzel, Steve James and David Moog were all awesome artists in different disciplines (Illustration, Design, Photography). Tight deadlines helped too. I look up to the work of artist friends like Karl Kotas, Chris Main, Chuck Tingley, whose work I admire, deceased friend Mark Freehand, whose work is throughout my home and influences me daily, as well as legendary rock artists like Hignosis, Roger Dean and the slew of contemporary killer rock poster designers making it happen right now. There’s so much awesome work out there in the multitude of Facebook rock poster groups and on Instagram. It’s humbling.”
Don encourages all to support the arts, especially local artists. Proceeds from his MiA poster supports Music is Art and are available at the musicisart.org shop. All of his posters are signed by Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls, and your money is going to a great cause. Music is Art’s mission is to give artists an opportunity to explore their style and find an audience. It provides a vehicle to show their art, with zero cost to them. Don encourages aspiring artists to contact him (kellerx@roadrunner.com). “I’m particularly interested in installation artists which seem increasingly hard to find. I think that’s from a lack of installation art examples available to young artists currently right now in this area. I’d like to change that!”
Don leaves us with a favorite quote, a final thought to sparking thought and creativity in our minds: “It’s funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen.”
For more information on the Music is Art foundation visit musicisart.org with schedule of events under the festival tab. Stop down to the annual MiA festival this Saturday, September 10 from 11am-midnight. Follow Don and his art on Facebook @ eyerazor. Watch for the upcoming Goo Goo Dolls homecoming show at Key Bank Arena on 9/24. “It’ll be epic.”
*The Villager publisher was an artist in the first festival.