Yakuza c. 1974

Robert Peak created this promotional poster for the film ‘Yakuza’ using paint, collage, and a whole lot of ingenuity. I bet he loved the challenge of bringing all these elements together. Look at the composition, how all the filmic elements are put together, colliding in an intriguing way. It’s like a dream, full of visual richness. I'm drawn to the softness of the transitions. The airbrush is used to subtly fade from one scene to another, creating unexpected connections between distinct spaces. Think of Pat Steir's waterfalls of paint or James Rosenquist's billboard-like layering of images—Peak is having his own conversation with them. This poster speaks to a whole history of making, of thinking, of mark-making. It's about finding new ways to make images, to tell stories, and to keep the conversation going.