Artificial art a threat to human creativity

Even if you don’t know the name Drew Struzan, you’ve definitely seen his work. It’s been shown in the odd art gallery, but you’ve likely encountered it in popcorn-scented movie theatres, or, even more likely, on your friends’ bedroom walls, that first site of personal art curation.

The American artist and illustrator created more than 150 movie posters. He was the brain behind the enduring images we have in our minds of Star Wars, E.T., The Shawshank Redemption, Bladerunner, Back to the Future and Indiana Jones. Struzan died in October at the age of 78. Earlier this year, his wife disclosed that he had Alzheimer’s and was no longer drawing.

“Iconic” is an overused adjective, often breathlessly used in the place of “popular” or “very famous.”

But what Struzan created was, indeed, iconography. When you hear the titles of some of these films, it’s very possible you think of Struzan’s soft-glow imagery before you even think of a specific scene.