When I was 9 years old my Dad brought home a poster our neighbor had given him and proceeded to use thumbtacks to put it on the wall of our den, right next to the Olympic poster of Jean-Claude Killy. I was fascinated by the poster. It was simple and beautiful. It was the front of an old car with the word “GOINES” below it. I had no idea what that meant, but it resonated. It only had eight colours, I had no idea how it was made or who made it. But without a doubt this poster was the turning point, the fork in the road. The ‘thing’ that caused me to venture down the road that eventually led me to Graphic Design.

Eventually the poster made it into my bedroom and spend the rest of its days traveling with me from one bedroom wall to another. After years of being tacked to one wall after the other. I don’t remember when we parted ways but I do know that there were dozens od thumbtack holes in each of the corners of that poster. As it turned out, the neighbor was the husband of the niece of David Lance Goines, or something like that. A man who has been continuously producing posters since about 1968. And the poster that I riddled with holes is now worth far more than my Dad or I would ever have guessed. But even if I had it, I wouldn’t sell it. I’d frame it, holes and all and put it up in my studio. For David it was poster #27, a self promo piece. For me it was step #1. Check it his life’s work here: David Lance Goines.

A quote from DLG associated with the poster:

I found a space right in front. There were fifty minutes on the meter, and I made a mental note to come back in 45 and put in more money. When I came back, there were still fifty minutes on the meter. The gods have smiled. When you’re in the womb, at some point you get handed a long list of things to choose among. There are thousands of them. You get to pick some, but not many. You don’t know what they are-you haven’t even been born yet. Some things were useful a long time ago, like being able to catch a mammoth every time, or not get Black Plague. Some things will be useful in the future, like resistance to invisible death rays or always getting water coupons. Some things are useful right now, like getting a parking space or having a good dentist. Since you’re picking at random, you tend to get things that aren’t very useful because they never come up. No mammoths anymore. But, I must have checked off parking, because I always just have the best luck finding a space. Maybe I should have picked something else, but hey, I was just a kid.