Gallery Archives The Bizarre Tradition Of African Popular Bootleg Movie Posters, And They’re So Bad They’re Good – Design You Trust — Design Daily Since 2007

Gallery Archives The Bizarre Tradition Of African Popular Bootleg Movie Posters, And They’re So Bad They’re Good

Art traditionally is valued by its technical brilliance, the difficulty of execution, the composition and fundamentals of aesthetics.

But some art circumvents all of these principles and criteria, and they’re no worse for it than the former. Sometimes, a “bad” piece art can be more valued than the “good” one, and not just for reasons of bad taste. Enter the African (mostly from Ghana) bootleg movie posters, which have, as a matter of fact, a very rich tradition. Why? Well, because of the perennially poor economy, Africans were forced to create the means for their entertainment.

Of course, there were no fancy printers or presses, and even if there were, they wouldn’t bother with something as silly as posters for bootleg movies. And so came a tradition of artists who created posters to create interest in these movies, even if they had to hand-paint them on flour bags. Though the means of printing became much more accessible, the tradition survives because of its extremely unique entertainment value.

More: Instagram, Facebook h/t: boredpanda



































































































If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

25 People That Accidentally Dressed Like Their Surroundings

"Aspire to Inspire": A Collection of Sun Spectrum Waveforms by Alyssa Morang-Pavlock

The Beauty Ceremony of the Traditional Kosovar Wedding Face Painting

"Triumph Of Hate": Examining The Underbelly Of US Culture - Gun Violence, White Supremacy, And Greed

Cats and Dogs Take Over Sheet Music with Composer's Creative Touch

This Instagram Account Creates Sinister Parodies of Kid’s Cooks To Ruin Your Childhood Memories

How Popular Cartoon Characters Look Like Before Their Morning Coffee

Meet Rammehar Punia, A ‘Rubber Man’ From India Who Has No Problem Looking Over His Shoulder

What If Your Favorite Disney Character Was Killed By Hunters?

"Wakka Wakka Wakka": Amazing Nostalgic Video Game Artworks By Rachid Lotf

"The Book Of Bare Bones": Artist Shows The Skeletons Underneath The Skin Of Iconic Cartoon Character

The Best of Street Art, August 2012

Digital Artist Merges Human Body With Everyday Objects To Create Extraordinary Images

Artist Richard Wilkinson Illustrates Imaginary Insects Inspired by 'Spirited Away'"

Russian Woman Who Suffered From Alopecia Now Has Beautiful Long Hair

These Illustrations Over Photography Tell Us More Than One Side Of The Story

Site-Specific Street Art By JPS

With His Visually Stunning Portraits Drawn Entirely In Charcoal, This Artist Captivates Audiences

Parodies of “Deep” Melodramatic Instagram Captions

"Always Moving Under the Surface": Organic Typography by Alex Ortiga

Rude Tree Ornaments For People Who Hate Christmas

Geeky Valentine’s Day Cards Featuring Pop Culture Stars Expressing Romantic Feelings In Their Own Way

Meet the Artist Behind the Most Wonderfully Weird Instagram Account

The Zep Diner, a Popular Eating Place at Hollywood Modeled on the Lines of a Zeppelin, in the 1930s

The Evolution Of Batgirl Over The Past 50 Years

Building-Sized Street Art Portraits by Natalia Rak

This Guy Continues To Paint Pop-Culture Characters Into Old Thrift-Store Paintings

Chinese Village Turns Artsy With Murals

Cancer Survivor Kristi Loyall Who Had Leg Amputated Now Takes Limb Everywhere

Boston Artist Matthew Zaremba Has Used Art and Instagram to Process Reality and Capture His Feelings