Why did you enter our Design POP contest? Was it the prestige of winning or the thrill of free t-shirts?

Tyler K. Rauman: I like POP Montreal and I've always wanted to contribute some design or illustration work to the cause.  Regardless of whether or not I won, I was happy to have people look at my drawing and have some of my psychic energy beamed into their heads.  I've done a lot of fun and cool art projects over the years, but I've been seriously surprised at how many people, friends and strangers, have been writing me or talking to me since my design was in the top 10.

Bridget Moser: When I first read about it, I thought maybe I would put something together to submit, but I wasn't really sure. I thought maybe the contest was meant for more serious, consummate-design types of people. A pal of mine suggested I just go for it, and I was kind of feeling this butt drawing I had done, so I decided I might as well. I guess I figured if it made it into the top ten, it would mean Marcel Dzama would have to look at this butt I had drawn, and that's probably not a situation that might ever present itself again, and the situation seemed funny to me.

What did you do with your prizes?  Have you sent many shirts out into the world to your friends? You totally should.

T.R.: Bridget Moser and I traded a shirt each, because both of us were uncomfortable with the idea of wearing our own design and then I kept the other one, thinking maybe it would be nice to give to someone. But I'll probably keep it for posterity. 

B.M.: I gave one shirt to my gentleman friend for his sports activities and leisure time. The other shirt I traded with Tyler because we both thought maybe it was weird to wear our own designs. My friend Liz bought one at the vernissage of her own volition. This is the extent to which I will intervene in the dissemination of the shirts. "Don't push the river."

What warm & fuzzy, exciting and inimitable POP Montreal memories fueled your unconquerable desire to win our t-shirt contest?

B.M.: An Albatross, El Salon, 2004. I was 18 and I had just moved to Montreal. Also, I was kind of an idiot. I went to the show because I met someone good-looking who mentioned they were going, so I just sort of showed up. I did not know who An Albatross was, but I figured “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” was a pretty good poem. I experienced an unparalleled level of grating social anxiety that still makes me cringe to this day. Someone kicked me in the face while crowdsurfing. Good show ... Joanna Newsom, Ukrainian Federation, 2006. I was experiencing a lot of emotions at the time. I feel like I may have wept openly during Peach Plum Pear, but this seems inaccurate ... Dishwasher, Portuguese Association, 2007. I helped Marty with his show by physically animating a large, anthropomorphic rabbit. We were almost late because he really wanted to watch the episode of “The Office” that was airing that night. The episode was okay.

T.R.: When I heard that POP was going to hold a design contest, the idea for the shirt appeared fully-formed in my head. All of my best memories of POP Montreal involve biking my ass around between all the different venues and parties. POP is really best experienced on a bicycle.

How has show promotion changed during your work as a poster artist?

B.M.: I haven't done any show posters for a little over two years so it's hard for me to speculate. But as long as artists like Lisa Czech and Walter Scott and Christine Hale and Josh Bastien and Seripop are doing work that can be put on paper I hope that paper posters persist because they all do very good work. I think there is a definite difference between seeing a show poster in the street and seeing a design on a computer screen. I prefer paper posters even though it requires an admittedly "fuck trees" attitude.

T.R.: Promotion has become more Internet based, but the problem with using those tools -- or the tool, you know the one -- is that it only promotes to an existing fan base, or friends of the performers. Anyone visiting or new to the city will be out of luck. I could imagine that relying too much on these tools might be failing to think long-term, because your fan base could stagnate and fail to grow, or even shrink. That is just me being speculative. But with that being said, there are lots of neat opportunities for posters online. Animated GIF posters, anyone? ... I really haven't done nearly as many posters for the past couple years. At one point I made 60-70 posters in 3 years.  Now I would be surprised if I've done more than 10 in the last 2 years. I still love doing posters once in a while, I've just stopped seeking them out, I spend more time on my personal artwork and music.

What are you working on now?

B.M.: Large scale violence-themed embroidery to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, performance projects in full-body lycra Zentai suit, beautiful new packaging for ceramic non-stick cookware, as-yet unrealized video project featuring at least 7 Furbies, new ideas about social practice? For a while I was thinking about Transcendental Meditation but now I’m pretty sure it’s just too expensive.

T.R.: I'm working on a series of sparkly psychedelic sci-fi paintings, drawing a lot with ballpoint pen, building scary geometric masks, drawing a lot with En Masse, working on a soundtrack for an iphone game, slowly finishing mixing for an album by Mussaver, and trying to finish a recording of my musical project Super Fossil Power -- both are taking longer than expected since a hard drive crash a couple months ago. Oh, and I'm actually working on a poster right now too. Keep yr eyes peeled for it.

CHECKOUT THE MICRO GALLERIES OF BRIDGET MOSER AND TYLER K. RAUMAN