EXCLUSIVE: Premiere of ‘Forced Perspective,’ A Doc on Derek Hess Who Worked With Pantera, Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam

While the fringe scenes had hardcore and metal musicians who voiced the ethos of the community, Derek Hess was the first artist to truly put it to paper. His iconic imagery is home outside a crusty venue in his home city of Cleveland and at the Louvre in Paris. He is possibly the greatest concert poster artist of our time working with bands mentioned in the headline as well as Deftones, Thursday and Clutch, yet he is still lauded by the discerning fine art set.

Hess’s art has a way of speaking with us—so much so that there are plenty of Derek Hess tattoos (see in gallery below)—and that is because our inner demons are awakened by his demons communicating to them through his art. In Forced Perspective, filmmaker Nick Cavalier exorcises them by getting Hess to talk about how his alcoholism and bipolar disorder inform the work he puts out into the world. It’s the heartbreaking journey of a staggering genius.

Stream Forced Perspective here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/forcedperspective