Lebanon - Art And Business

[Nishee]

They are big, and they are everywhere. The large, hand-painted
promotional posters for movies that can be seen outside cinemas and
lining major roads may not be to everyone’s taste, but they do raise the
question of why cinema owners in Lebanon choose to commission artists to
paint the giant posters instead of printing them, as is the usual
practice in Europe and the U.S.
“It’s still cheaper to commission an artist,” explains Tony Eid, in
charge of advertising for La Cite cinema. “Printing is  more expensive,
particularly for a small print run of two, maximum three posters.”
Typically, a hand-painted poster will cost $500 compared with $800 for a
printed copy. “In Europe, movie owners enjoy a larger number of
cinema-goers and therefore have the advertising budget to print one or
two giant posters.”
Hagop Demerdjian and Joseph Lahoud are veterans, two of only five
full-time commercial artists. “First there was the color TV and then
came the video recorder,” says Mr. Demerdjian, who has been painting
billboards since 1962. “Today our main rival has become the computer.”
He predicts that with further technological advances the $800 for a
typical print will drop and force him out of business. His finger throws
an invisible switch in the air. “At a touch of a button you can blow up
any poster to the size you want. It might be easier, but where’s the art
in that?”
All the major film studios send promotional leaflets  for their movies
around the world. Some artists opt for a film still; they project it
onto a wall and pencil the magnified image of the outline. This is a
labor-saving technique which Hagop Demerdjian cannot use. His workshop
in Bourj Hammoud measures no more than eight meters by three, forcing
him to sketch unaided.
“You have to be fit. We’re not like artists who work leisurely at their
easels. All our work is on a gigantic scale,” he says. The cinema
billboards can vary anywhere from four meters by seven to five by 15.
“There’s a lot of lifting and climbing ladders to reach awkward spots.
In our business it’s 75 percent perspiration and 25 percent painting.”
On average, an artist earns $100 to $200 per project for a poster that
can take anywhere from two days to a week to complete depending on the
size, the materials used, and the content. “Hair,” he says, nodding to
himself. “Painting an actor’s hair always takes the longest time. I
remember I once spent two days on Bo Derek’s hair. I’m a perfectionist,
even though the public, in cars, doesn’t really spot the detail.”
“You have to care about your work,” says Mr. Lahoud, whose workshop is
in the Chouf. His specialty is action images such as an exploding comet
or a blazing volcano. “Action shots on posters are always more appealing
than the plain features of an actor ­ more interesting both for the
passer-by and for the artist.”
“Sometimes,” he adds morosely, “we’ve barely finished a poster when it
has to come down to be replaced by another.”