“Fratelli Coppola (Il Sole)” (2017)
by Esteban Maroto (1942-)
20 x 26 in., ink, marker, acrylic and watercolor on heavy paper
Coppola Collection
Esteban Maroto is a contemporary Spanish artist who has does a lot of art in the science fiction and fantasy genres. An advertising poster done by Maroto inspired me to contact him and propose a commission: what if Mucha had done some advertising posters for those extraordinary Sicilian cigar manufacturers, the Coppola Brothers (Fratelli Coppola) of Aci Catena?
As the US (post-immigration) storefront evolved, a cigar-store display figure, a member of the Vatican Guard, was installed outside the entrance, his right hand raised and holding a cigar. And in the center of the large sign above the door a triskelion is displayed, which is the symbol in the center of the Sicilian flag.
I proposed two posters, as though the ad campaign might take out face-to-face pages in a magazine, or they might be displayed side by side as actual posters. The key pieces of visual information were: (1) duality; the two posters need to be joined, thematically, so male and female (sun and moon) was an obvious choice, with both of them in over-the-top Carnivale outfits. And (2) family history; (a) the cigar-store figure; (b) the name of the establishment, and its fictitious founding year; (c) a cigar band, featuring the triskelion.
Esteban nailed them.
I asked Gerhard to design the business card for the modern foundation bearing the Fratelli Coppola name. See my entries under Esteban Maroto for the big picture story. Preview in the additional images.
