John Alvin is the Norman Rockwell of his era. Like Rockwell’s connection to the Saturday Evening Post, John’s movie posters were seen all over the world through his over 200 campaign posters, and were often hanging in people’s houses and seen every day. He passed away suddenly in 2008, leaving his artistic legacy behind.
The expression ’Alvin-izing’ was coined by a Disney executive, and references the ‘heavy’ light used in his works that gave the art a mystical quality, made viewers curious about the subject of the art, and got them invested in new releases early in the campaign.
Alvin is the only movie campaign artist who worked from concept to key art. He got hired for entire campaigns, including collateral materials, movie trailer concepts, and adult and juvenile campaigns, and often created one image for global campaigns. That had the rare impact of making them indelible and recognized around the world.
John was very important to the New Golden Age of Disney Animation, having worked on The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Rescuers Down Under, The Emperor’s New Groove, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and a number of other rereleases.
John’s work is an integral and essential part of film history. Illustration art and traditional poster illustration are a thing of the past, with posters now designed using computers. John’s body of work created artistic visuals for some of the best films of any era, and now streamed content has led to a focus on celebrity promotion rather than artistic poster design.
John Alvin represents the best of cinema history. There will never be another artist like him, nor another era with such iconic cinematic imagery. To celebrate him is to celebrate the best in film and the best artistry celebrating a love of cinema.
