BACARDI B-LIVE

Graphic designer and event promoter Matt Goldman—also known as MFG—may actually have the best job in the world: He’s a graduate of Shepard Fairey’s renowned Studio Number One, where he was a senior art director, and now he puts together some of the best parties on the planet. We were lucky enough to put his skills to use on this gorgeous poster promoting the BACARDI B-LIVE series this summer, and even luckier to chat with him about working with Shepard Fairey,Team Diplo, and why he’s so devoted to music.

First off: How was the B-LIVE show this week?

It was amazing. We added James Murphy to the bill, so it was over the top, incredible—some came to see James Murphy, some to see Tiga, but everybody who went to that party had an amazing time.

Did you have a best moment?

For me, it was walking into the show and seeing the giant boombox they’d put on the stage—it was crazy. But also, when Tiga was on, I went into the middle of the crowd, and there was a sea of people just having a great time. It was incredible.

You’ve worked with some of the BACARDI B-LIVE artists before, right?

I actually designed the website for Mad Decent [Diplo's label]. And there’s going to be a Mad Decent team at my pool party tomorrow at the Standard Downtown. They’re going up against IAMSOUND—they distribute all these UK bands like Little Boots. Usually there’s like a mock DJ battle, and tons of water guns, and one team will play, then the other. All my friends come out—last year all the Obey guys came dressed up as East LA gangsters.

Speaking of—you’re focused on music now, but your first big design gig was in Shepard Fairey’s LA studio, right?

Yeah. I started there as an intern when I was at UCLA, but I started working there a month later. Eventually I was a senior art director.

It must have been crazy to work there as the Obama posters went so massive.

It was crazy—it was like the only way you could get bigger than the Andre [the Giant] face was the Obama poster. Shepard just made that as a fan, and he was even apprehensive about whether or not it would be received as a welcome endorsement. From there it just snowballed.

Why do you think that happened?

Part of it was that the timing was right. With Shepard, his art isn’t really about the execution of what he puts on the canvas. It’s a coup—it’s a coup to begin as a street artist, and now your work’s hanging in the Smithsonian. That scene, street art, has become more and more successful. Even prior to Obama, Banksy sold out his, like, second show in LA. He was becoming massive and famous, in this totally different realm. The Obama poster came right at a time when street art was becoming massive in a different way.

Do you see yourself as part of the street art movement?

No, not really. There are all these companies that want to do stuff that’s progressive, in the art or fashion world—I think I see myself as part of that, through events and event production. I concentrate less on being an artist than facilitating the way it reaches people. I love music—my favorite thing in the world is to put music in front of an audience that’s happy to be there, and there’s a band that’s happy to be there, and everybody wants to be part of the same experience. There’s just nothing better in the world.

When you think about how to design a poster promoting an event, what do you think about first?

I think about who the event is going to attract. I think about what kind of person comes into it, and who knows that person—I sort of target that person’s friends, maybe someone who’s not already into the music, that’s who I’m out to get. Because at the end of the day, you put A-Trak and Tiga and James Murphy—you write their names in Helvetica on a white sheet of paper, and you’re done.