Macon Magazine

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 MACON MAGAZINE I 83 images paying homage to vintage Penguin book covers. A reimaging of the cover to Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange," with Little Richards' trademark pompadour, eyelashed and pencil mustache taking the place of Alex's face, is effortless in its execution, right down to the battered edges, accurate cover layout and sun-faded wear and tear of a much-loved '60s edition. "Crossroads had always tried to set itself apart from other conferences by having a different format and enlisting different presenters, but visually, we struck gold when we started working with Jason for our posters, post cards and such," said Crossroads organizer Chris Horne. And yet these are the products of someone who is entirely self-taught in the aspects of art, design and practice of silkscreen printing. Frost is a man who didn't go to a university, who started designing posters as a way of much-needed promotion for his own punk and hip-hop bands, as well as a way to get the word out about bands he was booking at Mellow Mushroom. "ey didn't do any promotion, so I thought maybe we should start doing flyers and things like that," said Frost. "So I started doing that, their publication ads and materials." He had already learned a little of the flyer-design world from a colleague at the comedy club where he worked. But before that, it was the world of hip-hop and punk that led him to the ultimate form of street expression, graffiti. In this world there was plenty of healthy competition, plenty to be inspired by. "Punk and hip-hop coincide with each other," said Frost, regarding the meeting point of graffiti. "We all had our own cliques, and we all fed off of each other. It was never like, 'I want to be like [famous graffiti artists] Revok,' or 'I want to be like Sever,' it was just like, 'Oh, they've got dope stuff, let's do out own stuff.' " In this aspect, Macon has stalled when it comes to graphic art. Looking to a city like Atlanta, which Frost said is about No. 13 on the county's graphic design scene, and you see dozens of designers spurring each other on, collaborating and striving to beat the competition for contracts from the newest startup, band or venue; designers like those at Methane Studios, who do frame- worthy concert posters for the likes of Rufus Wainwright, Kings of Leon and Wilco. "ere's a lot of competition in Atlanta. Methane Studios are crazy good," said Frost. "But it takes something like that for me to step the bar up. I need that competition. Seeing someone else's work and thinking, 'I've got to do better than that.' " Naturally, this can lead to losing out on opportunities too. Take Austin, Texas, for example, which is the leading city for graphic designers and silkscreen printing. "I would love to live in Austin, Texas," he said. "ey have everyone from Web developers to graphic design to music festivals, that's huge. But that's like a double- edged sword. You could move out there if you like, you're around a bunch of people, creatives like you, so it's easier to collaborate, but the competition is fierce." Which isn't to say that Macon can't be this haven for creatives. With plenty of empty, cheap and attractive space available, downtown studios should be easy to come by, and that's a big hope for Frost, whose home studio is easily interpreted by three children ages 8, 5 and 2. "I really want an office downtown, there's just more people going in and out, you never can tell who you're going to meet," said Frost. "It's inspiring. If I could have a place on the second story with a big window looking out downtown, no matter what city I'm in, that just inspires me." Expanding the artist community downtown would create a hive of activity, breeding collaborations and competition, as well as a place to find focus and inspiration. is is the next step an artist like Frost needs to take to fulfill those ever-present goals. "I would like to financially support my family off of the work that I do," says Frost, of his aims. "While doing so, I'd like to have an easier accessibility to collaborate with other creatives in and outside of the area. ere's a lot of other artistic outlets that interest me, but finding the time to do them is difficult, so the collaboration process would bridge that gap and there's no telling what it may bring together." M UP AGAINST THE WALL WITH MODERN GIANT Jason Frost will have a show that will hang through January at Roasted Café in downtown Macon. Here is opening- night information: POSTERS AND PRINTS Roasted Café, 442 Second St. First Friday, Jan. 4, 7:30 p.m.-until Musical guests: StereoMonster, Floco Torres and Xavil

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