'JAWS' by Matt Ferguson, 2020
Original framed collage presentation including print, skate deck and hand-signed soundtrack LP by director Steven Spielberg.
33.7 x 41.5 x 3.4 Inches (framed)
16.5 x 23.4 Inches (print)
Offset lithograph on 300gsm fine art paper + licensed 'JAWS' skateboard deck x Funko.
Also includes an original soundtrack album hand-signed by Steven Spielberg.
3 components custom framed together in one large shadowbox presentation.
Archival suede matting and 93% UV-protective plexiglass in black hardwood frame molding.
ARTIST BIO
Matt Ferguson is a Graphic Designer and Artist from Sheffield in the UK. Matt is best known for working with Marvel Studios designing artwork for the Marvel’s Avengers Blu-Ray collection and many promotional posters. He also regularly exhibits at galleries in the US including Bottleneck Gallery and is well known in the industry for his beautifully stylised creations for established Film and TV properties. Matt is also the co-founder and creative director of Vice Press.
ABOUT THE ART
Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on Peter Benchley's 1974 novel of the same name. In the film, a man-eating great white shark attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town, prompting police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) to hunt it with the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw).
Shot mostly on location on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, Jaws was the first major motion picture to be shot on the ocean, and resultingly had a troubled production, going over budget and past schedule. As the art department's mechanical sharks often malfunctioned, Spielberg decided mostly to suggest the shark's presence, employing an ominous and minimalist theme created by composer John Williams to indicate its impending appearances. Spielberg and others have compared this suggestive approach to that of director Alfred Hitchcock. Universal Pictures gave the film what was then an exceptionally wide release for a major studio picture, on over 450 screens, accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign with a heavy emphasis on television spots and tie-in merchandise.
Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster, regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history, and it won several awards for its music and editing. It was the highest-grossing film until the release of Star Wars in 1977. Both films were pivotal in establishing the modern Hollywood business model, which pursues high box-office returns from action and adventure films with simple high-concept premises, released during the summer in thousands of theaters and advertised heavily. Jaws was followed by three sequels (without the involvement of Spielberg or Benchley) and many imitative thrillers. In 2001, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".