Ma Rainey’s Melody Maker

Bob Venables recreates a 1920s Melody Maker publication to celebrate the release of Netflix's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

To coincide with the release of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, NME are giving their readers the chance to voyage back in time to the film’s 1927 setting by reviving their sister publication Melody Maker as a site-within-a-site. Rumoured as Viola Davis’ greatest performance yet, the film explores racial inequality in the music industry in 1920s Chicago, 'where the blues is booming but the players are struggling against problems and attitudes that feel all-too relevant today.'  Bob's artwork is a vintage design framing the main characters within ornate pillars and featuring Ma Rainey as the central figure.  Check out NME.

portraits
film
music
magazine cover
black and white
retro
pastiche
vintage
entertainment
bob venables
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