Epilogue – Painted Movie Poster Art Series – Feature #2: “Rosemary’s Baby” 50th Anniversary

Series Overview:
– Epilogue Art Series is a mixed-media series by artist Damon Kardon honouring classic horror/sci-fi films and the creative promotional art that was presented to the public at the time of their premiere dates. All films represented in this art series celebrate a milestone anniversary of the films’ release and the impact they have made on pop culture history.

Kardon has chosen specific films that influenced him over the years through their distinct tone, cinematography and direction. He is expressing his emotions felt from viewing each film through his art process, painting key images and colors that also represent the story of each film. Each poster design starts as a painting and then is manipulated in Photoshop.

As a kid who loved going to the movies (and also enjoyed the classic painted poster designs of Drew Struzan ), Damon has dreamed of bringing his art style into the world of interpretive movie posters. The term “Epilogue”, in film, represents the final scenes in which a recap or narrative of what happens to the characters is given. It can be represented in a montage, which is how Damon interprets these works he is creating.

Sneak Preview :
– Be sure to enhance your viewing/reading experience by watching the original movie trailer for Rosemary’s Baby, released on June 12th,1968, via Paramount Pictures.

About the Painting:
–Rosemary’s Baby was released in theaters 50 years ago on June 12th, 1968. I didn’t get to see Roman Polanski’s Masterpiece until about ten years ago, and it has haunted me ever since. Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes star as the idyllic young newlyweds moving into a lavish NYC high-rise. Their new neighbors are not who they seem to be and it becomes surreal and creepy fairly quickly.

Unfortunately for me, I saw The Devil’s Advocate with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves before I saw Rosemary’s Baby and thought that film was such a rip-off and far inferior to Rosemary’s Baby, but my mind kept associating the two. Rosemary’s Baby set a new standard in horror and influenced so many directors thereafter. I have always followed Polanski’s career and this movie is nestled in a strange timeline of events in his life. It was only a year after this was released that his pregnant wife Sharon Tate was murdered by the followers of Charles Manson.

I wanted to capture a critical final scene in the movie as the focal point in this poster. I also wanted to express the fear and dread of the young, terrorized Rosemary. Evil neighbor “Minnie” played by Ruth Gordon was also such an eccentric character I couldn’t shake, so I needed her in this painting. This movie took the best suspense of Hitchcock and married it to the ‘60s and the death of the summer of love. – Damon Kardon

Feature #2: “Rosemary’s Baby”:
– Check out Damon’s creative process by scrolling through the photos below.

“Rosemary’s Baby” – Original Poster Art from 1968:

The Series & Future Artwork:

– Coming up in Feature #3… “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
– Feature #1… “Christine” 35th Anniversary