Since 1980, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival has presented itself each year with striking visual imagery through the event’s official poster. Throughout the years, talented local artists have contributed their unique touch to what has become a much anticipated and collectible piece of art. This year, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival is proud to feature two poster designs created by local artist Jeff Whipple.
 
A rarity compared to previous years, the 2018 posters pay homage to the jazz performer and fan. Each piece of art incorporates Whipples’s distinctive and highly recognized three-line motif.
 
“I use three lines because three repetitions of an element are a pattern, and that implies a definite design,” said Whipple. “Think of it like a bass player repeating three notes to hold a jazz song together. Or, as Lou Reed said, ‘One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you’re into jazz. I also use the three lines as a life symbol because the basic perception of something living is a pattern of movement. If viewers understand that the three lines represent something about life, they will create their own ideas about what it means in this poster.”
 
In creating these images, Whipple sought to pay homage to the audiences that enjoy jazz, as well as the musicians who keep America’s music strong. Each poster design features a Jacksonville connection – Liz Gibson, a jazz enthusiast and locally acclaimed artist widely recognized for challenging the perception of human limitations; and Jacksonville native, jazz drummer and GRAMMY Award winner, Ulysses Owens, Jr. For more information about the posters, visit JaxJazzFest.com.

About the Artist
Jeff Whipple creates art that engages viewers in imaginative contemplations about the weirdness and beauty of our brief appearance in the infinity of time. A nationally recognized artist and playwright, Whipple has won dozens of awards in professional art competitions and six state-sponsored artist fellowships. This spring, he won a $25,000 artist grant from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation.
 
He has had 84 solo exhibitions in galleries, colleges and museums including the Tampa Museum of Art, the Gulf Coast Museum of Art, the Museum of Art, DeLand, and the Boca Raton Museum of Art. His art has been in dozens of group exhibitions across the U.S. and is included in corporate, municipal, college and museum collections. Whipple has had many large-scale public art commissions and is currently working on five sculptures for a park in St. Petersburg, Florida.
 
Jeff Whipple earned a MFA in visual art and has taught at several colleges. For more information and thousands of visuals: http://www.jeffwhipple.com
 
About the Jacksonville Jazz Festival
The 2018 Jacksonville Jazz fest will take place May 24 – 27 in downtown Jacksonville. Founded in 1980, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival is produced by the City of Jacksonville Office of Special Events with support from the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, Jacksonville Acura Dealers, Lowe’s, Walmart, Portable Air, SunPass, Omni Jacksonville Hotel, Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Lexington Hotel & Conference Center, Rubenstein Law, Heineken, Patron Tequila, Coca-Cola, Miller Lite, Keyboard Connection Pianos & Organ, PRI Productions, Polly Tropical, Leaf Filter, Dave & Busters, Downtown Investment Authority, Nuera, AT&T, Holidays Network Group, The Lasik Vision Institute, CBS47 FOX30 Action News Jax, HOT 99.5, Jacksonville Business Journal, (904) Happy Hour, V101.5, SMG, JEA, the Florida Theatre, Burrito Gallery, The Ritz Theatre & Museum, and Breezy Jazz Club. For information on the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, visit JaxJazzFest.com.
 
About the City of Jacksonville Office of Sports and Entertainment
The City of Jacksonville’s Office of Sports and Entertainment attracts, hosts and creates opportunities that drive economic impact, accelerate the Jacksonville brand and improve the quality of life and cultural engagement for visitors and residents. Jacksonville hosts hundreds of diverse events each year making Northeast Florida a premier destination with rich tradition and world-class hospitality. The Sports and Entertainment office includes the Office of Special Events and the Film and Television Office.