The Honkers 1972

Curator: So, here we have the promotional poster for "The Honkers" from 1972, likely created using acrylic paint to achieve that bold, eye-catching effect. Robert McGinnis is the artist behind this piece of promotional art. Editor: My first thought? That car! That glossy pink sports car. It really shouts "seventies!" in a way that makes me giggle. The colour balance is intense; this will do exactly what the film producer expected it to. Curator: Indeed. The poster’s composition is really dynamic, isn't it? McGinnis crams it full of stereotypical images that seek to represent genre expectations: a cowboy astride...well, everything! The female figure lounging on the car, rodeo scenes exploding in the background – all hinting at the film's narrative. Editor: And it's the materiality that screams this particular moment. Acrylic paint, perfect for high-impact posters. Think about how the inks needed to be formulated for mass production, designed for a quick read but built to withstand weather too. They didn't fuss over the *hand* of the artist, everything’s designed to quickly relay specific, coded meaning about pleasure, adventure and action. Curator: Absolutely. There's this undeniable commercial sheen, of course, designed to attract a wide audience, yet also the vibrant chaos almost feels like a rebellious energy against its very intent. That the artist, McGinnis, often made art for a 'certain type' of publication – it tells us so much. The very figures here could've leaped from a paperback novel! Editor: I agree. The film poster, in itself, really exposes the culture that consumes it: the fantasy of rugged masculinity plastered all over readily consumed materials that become objects in and of themselves. Look at that "Honker" branding right up top; these things are meant to get crumpled, thrown away – the artwork doesn’t intend permanence. Curator: And the figure of James Coburn—he’s the hardboiled leading actor and a very popular choice to use as the main subject to put 'bums on seats'! It does make you question, doesn’t it? About those types of stars, now largely forgotten, that define an epoch and the poster here is simply attempting to reflect some cultural significance onto its viewing public. Editor: It definitely captures the essence of '70s cinema and its marketing machine perfectly: disposable materials manufactured to amplify the pleasure of mass entertainment to which they advertise. Curator: Thinking of "The Honkers," what's more captivating – the promise within the movie poster’s illusion, or its role as artifact, ripe with the stories of its own manufacturing? Editor: Ah, a tough call! Ultimately, I find its story as a mass-produced, functional artifact far more gripping.