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Joe Weber – 2004 Kentucky
Derby Festival Poster artist |
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The Kentucky Derby Festival poster series began in
1981 as a marketing tool designed to generate pre-season
interest in the Derby Festival. Over the years, it’s
become a unique symbol of the community. The Festival’s
Official Poster Series is nationally recognized and
has helped to enhance the careers of artists from around
the country.
2004 marks the 24th year of the Official Poster Series.
The work of International artist and Louisville native
Joe Weber was selected as the official art of the Festival’s
49th annual celebration.
Weber is an internationally recognized award-winning
graphic designer and artist whose clients have included
the International Bluegrass Music Association, Churchill
Downs, the Western Music Association and musicians Emmylou
Harris and Linda Ronstadt. He also designed logos for
the 122nd and 123rd running of the Kentucky Derby, as
well as the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
The theme for this year’s poster is “The
Art of the Race.” Weber said his poster image came
to life starting with “a conceptual pencil sketch
using the racing elements suggested by the Derby Festival.
I wanted to bring back some Festival colors into the
piece that I really hadn’t seen the past couple
years.” Weber resides in Louisville, with his wife
and two children.
Past Derby Festival poster designs decorate offices
and homes throughout the region. Peter Max's expressionistic
"Bluegrass Pegasus" launched the series in
1981, and a stylistic and geographical mix of artists
have been showcased over the years. The signed collector
editions continue to significantly increase in value,
and the quality of the Poster series has been recognized
worldwide.
The 2004 image will grace posters, t-shirts, glasses,
television commercials and more than 100 retail items
in celebration of the Kentucky Derby Festival®.
The Derby Festival® Poster is sponsored by the Midwestern
Insurance Alliance and was printed by Preferred Promotions.
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