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A fter spending 1C minutes with Oris B*'heimer. it's almost
impossible not to like Mm After spending 20 minutes
with him, it's almost impossible not to admire his luck.
One things for certain: he's a remarkably busy guy. Over
the Last two decades Chris has developed a body of design
work and photography primarily within the music industry that
is as remarkable as it ts varied, for a range of dents includ
ing Pavement. Beck. PJ. Harvey, Smashing Pumpkins, Man or
Astroman? and (perhaps most notably) R.f M„ Green Day and
Widespread Panic. His website simply displays screenshots
of David Letter man sitting at his desk, holding up albums of
Bilheimer's design and making his characteristic announce
ments of that particular evening's musical guests. Across the
page, Biihetmer writes, "This was the easiest way to make a
portfolio.* It's a casual statement that underlines what's bla
tantly obvious: this guy is very, very good at what he does.
I was recently fortunate enough to meet the multi-talented
photographer and graphic designer for dinner at The Grit.
Instantly affable, generous and kind, he greeted the couple at
the table next to us. our waitress and most of the staff by their
first names. We discussed his life and work in Athens. GA for
the past 22 years, the long (and impressive) list of diems he's
worked with during that timeframe, the tribulations of being a
working artist and the rewards of being a totally nice guy.
*1 would say it's more important than being organized,
focused, motivated or even talented,* he tells me. Tve tried
to be someone who is very easy to work with and that has
helped me get a lot of the jobs that Tve done. " A firm believer
in kindness myself, I relaxed in a manner that I'm only capable
of when in the company of kindred spirits and listened to some
of his personal history. ..
Attending summer sessions at the Savannah College of Art.
Chris began studying art at the tender age of 14 in between
his high school years. His older sister. Dena, who was enrolled
as a student at UGA and a DJ at WUOG, sparked an early inter
est in the then-burgeoning college music scene. In fact she
even took him to see his first ever concert: R.E.M. and the
Minutemen. After moving to Athens in '88 and enrolling in art
school as a painting major, Chris immediately began to partici
pate in the musk scene in almost every possible aspect with
the exception of actually playing musk. A self-described "ter
rible musician,* Chris began creating posters, flyers, t-shirts,
stage lighting and photography for a host of local acts.
*1 was able to do a lot of work for whomever I could and
gain a lot of experience,* he says, *1 developed an entire body
of work that was very separate from 'class work.** Part of this
body of work was a long series (over 60 in total) of cut-and-
paste covers created for Flagpole (see cover photo). Chris tells
me he would show up late at night quickly create five or six
covers, and then leave them in a stack on the editor's desk.
In '89 Chris met Michael Stipe, through mutual friends,
at the conclusion of R-E.M.'s Green World Tour. Stipe quickly
became aware of Chris' design work and soon asked him to
orchestrate stage lighting for a surprise show at a Greenpeace
benefit One of his earliest design pieces for the group was
a t-shirt in *93, inspired by a cross-country road trip from
California taken with Stipe and utilizing the numerous rusty
gas station signs photographed along the way. As Chris
recounts it. he was catted mto the R E M office several days
after submitting hvs design expecting to Kottect a check, but
instead was offered the position of assisting Michael in all
visual aspects of the multi-pUtinum band (He also got the
check.) By then in his eariy 20s, Bilheime* was ecstatic to
accept the position, which he continues to hold to this day.
Around this time. Chns moved mto the old Athens High
School Gymnasium on Meigs Street with fellow art students
and filmmakers Dan Donahue and lance Bangs. The former
gym. owned and operated by filmmaker, painter and Professor
Emeritus Jim Herbert, has become somewhat Legendary tn
Athens—initially for the huge, frantic and constant painting
that the artist himself completed there and for the rotating
cast of young artists who have used the space as a studio.
Having studied under Herbert, Biiheimer. along with Bangs
and Donahue, established crude bedroom spaces out of cor
rugated tin, and began an ongoing senes of collaborative
film and design projects over the next five years. Eventually.
Chris and Dan Donahue would go ms to form (Crush Girts, a
two-man DJ bill that sold out local dubs consistently for the
next decade. Donahue went on to expand upon the fashion
brand Groop on the West Coast and in New York, and Bangs
continued his innovative film work, collaborating on musk
videos and projects with celebrated directors Mkhei Gondry
and Spike Jones, among others. The fruits of their individual
and collectiv? labors from this time period, and beyond, are
the primary subject of a three-man multimedia show at Clod
entitled “Blackboards and Smofcebombs." whkh features 175 of
Bilheimer's Poloroids alongside films by Lane* Bangs and film
and design work by Dan Donahue. The next evening, ATHKA
will host a retrospective of B'helmet's design work, featuring
T-shirts, posters and record covers, a portion of whkh will be
auctioned off to benefit Local musicians' resource Musi’s Space.
And to cap it alt off, this two-night exhibition marks Chris’
elocation from Athens to Austin, TX. *1 moved here from my
parents' house and stayed for over 20 years. Tve had a good
run, and it's about time for a change of pace.'
In tandem with his work for the musk industry, Chris has
also worked extensively in the alternative comedy scene, creat
ing work for such acts as "Mr. Show"$ Bob Odenkirk and David
Cross, Sarah Silverman and Patton Oswalt When asked about a
project that he would consider to be a personal favorite, Chris
recounts the frantk and hurried design of a self-published
book accompanying a live tour of *Mr. Show"—a book that
given a stack of pictures, word documents and only 10 days, he
co-designed with Chunkkt magazine's Henry Owing*.
"It was an opportunity to use the encyctopedk knowledge
of the show that I had amassed; I don't think I could have
done it without-knowing everything there was to know about
every episode.*
In moving to Austin, Chris is excited to immerse himself
in a town that boasts a truly vibrant film community, but will
continue Ms work for R.E.M., Green Day and Widespread Panic.
It goes withe t saying, but his presence surety will be missed.
r '^V;
Brian Hitseiberger
NOVEMBER 10,2010 FtAimE.COM |#