Retrospective gallery shares Spirit of ’68 relevance

The Game, Generationals, Girl Talk, Glue, The Globes, The Gore Gore Girls, Grizzly Bear, Grand Buffet and The Growlers are the artists listed in the brief “G” section of the alphabetical list of musical performers that the Spirit of ’68 has brought to Bloomington. During the past four years, the promotions company has gifted Bloomington music lovers with shows.

Throughout February, fans have been able look back on those music memories displayed in “Making Bloomington A Better Place To Live One Show At A Time: A Spirit of ’68 Gallery Retrospective.”

Now that the end of the month is near, the Blueline Gallery & Studio, is ending the exhibit in style with a closing reception at 9 p.m. Thursday.

Bloomington resident Dan Coleman started Spirit of ‘68 with what he described as a very specific purpose.

“There was a time when Bloomington was once considered great,” Coleman said. “I wanted to reassert Bloomington on the music map.”

With each act he brought to Bloomington came promotional materials, posters and pictures. Coleman said when he realized that he had accumulated four years of posters and that they were just lying around, he came up with the idea for the gallery show.

Molly Poganski, an IU alumna who graduated in 2009 and an artist exhibiting in the show, said the chance to see a compilation of work like this is something of a dying art.

“In an age where most marketing for music events is digital, I think it’s nice to look at the physical artwork that artists and designers have done for events,” Poganski said.

Bloomington resident and artist Julia Rickles also has work on display. Her photos from the Yeasayer show of last fall and The Blow’s performance last December at The Bishop capture some SO68 musical memories.

Rickles, who came to Bloomington in 2008, said the retrospective shows how Coleman has shaped the local music scene.

Chelsea Sanders, owner of the Blueline Gallery, said the gallery has sponsored retrospectives like this before but this one is unique in that it is solely dedicated to shows in Bloomington.

“We wanted to have the show because it’s supporting the artists who make the posters and supporting Dan because he does a great job showcasing local artists,” Sanders said. “He’s really changed the music scene and helped local musicians.”

Rickles, Sanders and Poganski agree that Coleman’s goal of remaking Bloomington as a musical mainstay has worked.

“Spirit of ’68 gives the music lovers of Bloomington what they want,” Rickles said. “I think he knows the Bloomington demographic better than anyone and doesn’t just cater to the students or just the locals. He makes everyone happy.”

Coleman said after seeing the successful reception that performances have received in the past, there is no reason to stop now, he might as well keep booking shows and bringing people music. His hard work will continue to be appreciated by the music fans he delivers to, Poganiski said.

“I’ve seen firsthand the tremendous amount of work that goes into contacting the artists, arranging for a venue, finding other bands to play, promoting the show with flyers and online marketing, arranging payments to the artists and actually getting the show to run smoothly the day of,” Poganski said. “Most of this goes unnoticed by the people attending, but I think we all owe SO68 a big thank you.”