Art Sims Explained

Art Sims (born 1954) is an African-American graphic designer and art director born in Detroit, Michigan in 1954. Sims is well known for his poster designs for classic African-American films, including Do the Right Thing (1998) and The Color Purple (1985). He is the CEO and co-founder of 11:24 Design Advertising in Los Angeles. Throughout his career, Sims has committed to promoting and making visible African-American art and culture.[1] His work is part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the National Mall.[2]

Career

Sims attended Cass Technical High School in Detroit then received a scholarship to attend Michigan State University from 1971 to 1975.[3]

While still in college, Sims took a position as an art director at Columbia Records in Los Angeles, where he produced a series of album covers. He continued to work in Los Angeles as an art director at EMI for four years. Sims then started his company 11:24 Design Advertising in 1981.

Among the album covers that he designed were:

Sims has worked with filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, Jon Kilik, George Lucas, John Singleton, and Spike Lee. He has designed posters for The Color Purple (1985), Clockers (1995), Do the Right Thing (1989), Dreamgirls (2006), Girl 6 (1996), A Huey P. Newton Story (2001), Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Summer of Sam (1999), Woman, Thou Art Loosed (2004), Bamboozled (2000), (2006), New Jack City (1991),[4] Black Dynamite (2009), Love and Basketball (2000), Mo' Better Blues (1990), The Secret Life of Bees (2009), Crooklyn (1994), Brooklyn's Finest (2009) and Black Panther (2018). Other works he worked on are Heaven Is A Playground (1991), The Show (1995), He Got Game (1998), The Original Kings Or Comedy (2000), Skins (2002), Lottery Ticket (2010), Kinyarwanda (2011), Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth (2013), Dara Ju (2017), War Paint (2018), Maynard (2018), Thriller (2018), Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (2019), Revival! (2019), On the Trail: Inside the 2020 Primaries (2020), True to the Game 2: Gena's Story (2020), For the Love of Money (2021).[5] He has also been recognized by the AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) and has been exhibited in a traveling exhibition entitled "Design Journeys," which was a collection of leading African American, Latino, and other minority designers.[6] In 2003, six of Sims work has been selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science to be featured in the exhibition "Close Up in Black: African American Film Posters."[7] which was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the academy and the Smithsonian's Anacostia Museum & Center for African American History and Culture.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Movies and Messages: The Movie Posters of Art Sims . museum.msu.edu. en. 2017-02-22.
  2. Web site: Civil Rights Artists: A Conversation with Art Sims . 2022-10-30 . Otis College of Art and Design . en.
  3. News: Art Sims's Design Journey. AIGA the professional association for design. 2017-02-22.
  4. Web site: Art Sims Talks Creating Iconic 'New Jack City' Movie Poster, Film's 25th Anniversary . EURweb . March 27, 2016.
  5. Web site: 11:24 Design Advertising movie posters . 2022-10-30 . www.cinematerial.com.
  6. Advertising . 11:24 Design . Art Sims Visionary Designer of Spike Lee's Movie Posters Gets NY Honor at the AIGA National Design Center May 19th . 2022-10-30 . www.prnewswire.com . en.
  7. Book: Cripps, Thomas . Close Up in Black: African-American Film Posters from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . 2002 . 978-0942102406 . 1st . Beverly Hills, CA . en.
  8. Web site: 2003-08-24 . Hollywood's view of race? It's in the posters . 2022-10-30 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.