"THE ART OF ASCENSION": A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BALLOON FIESTA POSTER

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Poster series was created by ProCreations Publishing Company in 1979 as an eighth anniversary fund raiser for the non-profit Fiesta, which has been staged since 1972. Over its 27 year history, this annually published limited-edition silk-screen poster has grown to be one of the most collected poster series in the world and an important source of funding for the Fiesta.

The first poster, a 19" x 34" image of an "ace" aeronaut, was published in an artist- signed edition of 500 prints and an unsigned edition of 2,500 prints. Both editions were numbered and sold for $18 and $35, respectively. Collectors now pay up to $1,200 for a copy - when they can find one. In 1980, an artist-signed edition of 300 numbered "fine art" prints (poster image before lettering) was added to the other editions. That poster portrayed a whimsical fantasy of a sky filled with hand-blown balloons. The 10th anniversary poster in 1981, was the first to show hot air balloons against a New Mexican landscape. Other innovations include: The creation of a diptych (dual image) poster celebrating the Fiesta's hosting of the Coupe Aeronautique Gordon Bennett international gas balloon race in 1993 and again in 1999 (the signed edition is printed on a single sheet of paper; the unsigned edition is split in two parts, allowing display of the gas and hot air images together or separately); and the publication of a "remarque" edition (printed on oversize paper allowing the artist to create individual hand drawings on each print in the edition) celebrating publication of the 20th poster in the series. For the 25th anniversary of the poster in 2003 we again produced a very limited-edition fine art poster without lettering.

Over the years the poster has come to be a cherished part of the Fiesta, picturing its many aspects: Dawn patrol (1982, 1999, 2003); Ground crews (1985); Balloon design and construction (1986); Balloon glow (1990); gas balloons (1993, 1994, 1995, 1999) and local ambience (1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005).

The posters often sell out before the end of each Fiesta. The editions sizes have grown somewhat in an attempt to meet demand and to keep with the original promise of providing an affordable, collectible art form. Despite this increase, collectors often bid up the price of each year's poster. Within a year of release, most posters command several times their publication price in the collector's market. Additional collectibles have been added over the years: PosterCards (4" x 6" color postcard reproductions) and in 1994, 8" x 8" ceramic PosterTiles.

All poster images © 1975-2005 PCPubCo. PosterCards & PosterTiles are trademarks of ProCreations. Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a trademark of AIBF Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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