Jefferson Wood (born July 6, 1973) is an American artist and one of the leading designers of concert posters and admats for the music industry. Wood is closely identified with

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

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and

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, designing some of their best known posters and admats. He also makes admats for celebrities outside of the music industry, such as the comedian

Gabriel Iglesias Gabriel Jesús Iglesias (born July 15, 1976), also known as Fluffy, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has produced a number of stand-up specials for television outlets such as Comedy Central and Netflix, including ''I'm Not Fat… I ...

. His posters are featured in many films and documentaries, including the

Runnin' Down a Dream "Runnin' Down a Dream" is a song co-written and recorded by Tom Petty. It was released in July 1989 as the second single from his first solo album ''Full Moon Fever''. "Runnin' Down a Dream" achieved reasonable chart success, reaching number 23 b ...

As a comic book artist, his work appeared regularly in

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and other titles in the 1990s

Education

Wood studied at the

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Unit ...

where he received a BA in 1995. He was the first in the world to graduate with a degree in

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. Wood studied under comic book illustrator

Bo Hampton Bo Hampton (born 1954 in North Carolina) is an American comic book and cartoon artist. He is the older brother of fellow comics-creator Scott Hampton. Andelman, Bob"Scott Hampton & Bo Hampton Interview,"''A Spirited Life'' (July 17, 2006). He grad ...

(who himself was a student under

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

and

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

Posters

Wood's illustration style is somewhat unusual compared to other poster designers, consisting of brushlines and cross hatching. He is ambidextrous and can simultaneously pencil with both hands at the same time, or ink with one hand and pencil with the other. Wood does not make his posters available to the general public. They are screen printed in small quantities and only made available to promoters for the advertising of live concert events. The majority of his posters are displayed and subsequently damaged by the elements. Because of the rarity of examples of his work in excellent condition, many of his posters have sold for thousands of dollars.
An underground economy has grown out of this situation, that has resulted in people removing his posters often after only hanging up for a few hours for the purpose of re-selling. In response to this some promoters have used wheat paste to permanently adhere a poster to the sides of buildings. A collector chiseled around a wheat pasted poster and removed a portion of a wall to retrieve it.

Awards and accolades

1st place Best Poster of the Year in the first ever

Pollstar ''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017. History and profile Founded in 1981 in Fre ...

Concert Industry Consortium (CIC) poster contest (in 2004) with his poster for

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer S ...

.
That same poster was ranked No. 18 best rock poster of all time by

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

.
His poster for

The B-52s The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, pe ...

was ranked No. 1 Best Poster of the Year in the Pollstar CIC poster competition in 2009.Pollstar CIC 2009 Website
/ref> His poster for

was ranked No. 2 Best Poster of the Year in the Pollstar CIC poster competition in 2022.

References

External links

Jefferson Wood's websiteJefferson Wood on the Behance website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Jefferson 1973 births Living people American comics artists American illustrators American graphic designers American poster artists Album-cover and concert-poster artists Savannah College of Art and Design alumni People from Boise, Idaho