This past week, I had the opportunity to interview Otto Zielke, a seasoned collector, and the owner of Visible Vibrations, a shop located just outside of San Francisco that sells posters and music memorabilia. Otto has been collecting posters since the '80s and has a lot of good knowledge and insight to share. Enjoy!
Katy: Can you tell our readers who you are and about Visible Vibrations?
Otto: Well, I'm Otto and I'm with Visible Vibrations. I've been collecting concert posters and music memorabilia for about 35 years. A few years ago I opened a brick and mortar store, and now I have all my wares ready for people to come in and look at, tour, and buy.
Katy: Nice! And how did you get started collecting concert posters and music memorabilia?
Otto: I'm an Allman Brothers Band fan, and I went to a concert sometime in the '80s. I don't know if it was during a set change or at the end, but there was this display, this lucite box filled with all this cool music memorabilia, and there was a poster in there, and I thought "oh my god, that is so cool!". So I went home and I thought, I want a poster. Now, this was back in the '80s, finding a poster in the '80s was not easy [laughs]. I mean, I remember trying to figure out who would I call, where would I go, I didn't know if there were any stores that would have something like that. And it was so frustrating, but I finally found one. And when I found it, it was like wow, this is fun. I got it framed, I put it in my office, it looked good, it looked right. It was art, it wasn't boring, it was MY art. It wasn't my mom and dad's art, it was my art. It was radical, nobody else had things like that in their corporate office, I did! So one poster made me happy. The second one made me happier. The third one got me excited. The fifth one, the tenth one, the hundredth one, I was hooked.
Katy: As it goes! I know you already touched on this a bit, but why are posters important to you?
Otto: You know, it's art! It's visual art. The visual part of the audio of the music. For me, and I can't say this for everybody, but that poster did it for me every morning. I'd come into my office, I'd open up my door, turn on the light. I'd walk into my office and I'd see that poster and the music would start going through my brain. Now all of a sudden I'm singing to myself, I'm starting to get excited about my day, and there's a spring in my step. It just did it for me. It wasn't just regular art that you'd look at and you'd try to figure out what the artist was saying, even though that happens with some of the creative art that's out there nowadays. But it made me smile, and it still does.
Katy: I love that. Do you have any favorite posters in your collection or in your inventory?
Otto: Yes, but my favorite changes [laughs].
Katy: What would you say your favorite is right now?
Otto: You know, if I had a revolving favorite, it's the new stuff that comes in. I like color, and the more vivid it is with color, the more it appeals to me and excites me. I don't know if you listen to a lot of music, but it's a mood. You know, some days I walk in and I'm like "what a horrible poster", and some days I'll look at a poster and go "wow, that poster's rockin'!". My favorite depends on my mood for the day.
Katy: Yeah, and you sell a wide variety of modern concert posters. Do you foresee these growing a lot in value as collectibles in the future?
Otto: I do, I do. I think right now the way that the market is moving... everyone likes the classic posters, and they're really starting to fetch some prices that a lot of us never thought anyone would spend for this stuff. So the older stuff is getting harder and harder for people to find and buy. The newer stuff, there are enough collectors out there looking for it, actively looking for it. I think the market is gonna be good. You know, what I understand about posters is they don't last, and eventually they're gonna go. People don't take care of them, people lose them, people destroy them. Anyone that kept them for a long period of time, I think they're going to find appreciation. I don't think they'll be as popular as what sports cards used to be, but I don't think that everyone understands that there's cool art out there, there are concert posters. I've been open for two years with my brick-and-mortar store, and it's amazing how many people come in and say "wow, I didn't know things like this existed", but then as soon as they say that I remember back in the '80s when I was looking for my poster. I didn't understand that there was a poster store out there.
Katy: Do you have any favorite poster artist?
Otto: Yes, yes I do. Frank Kozik is probably my favorite right now. Frank's cool, Frank does some great art. But you know, it's hard to pick a favorite. I love Jermaine's [Rogers] stuff, I've been collecting it since the '90s. I love Emek's work, although I don't always understand how his prices go into a strange world sometimes. I've known Justin [Hampton] for a long time, I've been collecting Justin probably since the '90s as well. I love their art, and each one is different. And when you get to know the artist you understand where the art is coming from.
Katy: Do you have any advice for collectors?
Otto: Protect. Your. Posters! The best way you possibly can. And keep on collecting! It's fun! I remember looking at art, this was before posters, and one of my first questions was, "if I bought that piece, what will it be worth in five years?", and the salesperson, he was a good salesperson, said "that's a bad question, it's the wrong question. Never buy based on an investment. You buy the art because you like it, and if you like it, and it makes you happy, then you buy it. And if or when you sell it, if it's worth more, great! If it's worth less, so what? You enjoyed the art." And that's what I'd say to any poster collector. If you enjoy the art, get it! Put it up on your wall. If it's a $10 poster, a $100 poster, a $1,000 poster, put it up on your wall, buy it, get it! Art is fun.