Allan Bealy is a Canadian graphic designer and former art director, who lives and works in Brooklyn. In the 80’s, Allan was co-publisher of Benzene, an arts magazine, and has had two books of his collages recently published — Mudbath by Black Scat Books and Papercuts by Red Fox Press.
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Have you designed a stamp before?
Yes. I started designing stamps in 2012. The early sheets I did were created exclusively as stamp editions and related more to my graphic design work. My more recent stamp sheets are extensions of my collage practice in that I will take art done in one context and manipulate it to work in a stamp context. The collages that I have used for stamps break a lot of rules, which I find pleasing… there’s a lot of overlap, image manipulation and play with perforation.
How was this different?
Designing this edition, my intent was to simplify the narrative so that the message in the image might be more apparent. I really consider it a commemorative edition, without being too obvious.
What was the most interesting or fun aspect of designing a poster stamp? What unique challenges did it present?
I love stamps! I have a modest collection that I’ve held on to since I was a kid and I was recently gifted with a set of three small albums from the 30’s that I spend hours studying. The challenge now, in creating my own stamps, is to understand what I can from that history and apply to my own art. I’ve got a long way to go!
Tell us about the art for this stamp?
The stamp is a version of a collage I recently did called INFLICT. I don’t generally comment on political or social issues in my work but this piece did have the intention of speaking out about the abuse of women and the #metoo movement. Being able to use this collage for the stamp edition was very important to me and I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Anything else?
There have been brilliant artistamps created for many decades now and I feel I’ve joined a wonderful secret society!