This vintage movie poster is for the short film Notes on the Popular Arts
Like Why Man Creates almost a decade earlier, the Oscar-nominated Notes on the Popular Arts grew out of a corporate commission. Warner Communications' CEO Steve Ross wanted a film that would convey his firm's capabilities to the financial community. "They originally viewed it as a kind of annual report," Saul said, "But as we did with Kaiser Aluminium, we converted it into a commentary. I looked at the company and said, 'Well, what is it that they're really up to?' And looking at their activity, I realized everything could fall under the umbrella of the popular arts. So the idea emerged of having the film define the popular arts as a vehicle for fantasy and self-projection, and treat it in a somewhat ironic style."
Irony, parody and satire all play a part in the five "windows," each based on the notion that we create fantasy worlds through television, music, comics, books and movies to compensate for the difficulties of real life. The poster complements the film's humorous tone and its episodic structure.