The world received the very sad news today that Frank Kozik, a man perhaps best known for his incredible music posters of the 1990s, has passed away.
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Yesterday
Kozik’s social media channels shared this statement earlier today:
WE ARE DEVASTATED TO INFORM YOU THAT FRANK KOZIK PASSED AWAY UNEXPECTEDLY THIS PAST SATURDAY.
FRANK WAS A MAN LARGER THAN HIMSELF, AN ICON IN EACH OF THE GENRES HE WORKED IN. HE DRAMATICALLY CHANGED EVERY INDUSTRY HE WAS A PART OF. He was a CREATIVE FORCE OF NATURE. WE ARE SO BEYOND LUCKY AND HONORED TO HAVE BEEN PART OF HIS JOURNEY, AND HE WILL BE MISSED BEYOND WHAT WORDS COULD EVER EXPRESS.
HE LOVED HIS WIFE, HIS CATS, CLASSIC MUSCLE CARS, MENTORING OTHERS, AND DISNEYLAND. HIS FORCEFUL PRESENCE WILL BE MISSED BY ALL WHO KNEW HIM. HIS LEGACY, LIKE ALL GREAT MASTERS, WILL LIVE ON THROUGH HIS ART AND OUR MEMORIES OF HIM.
MORE INFO ON A MEMORIAL SERVICE WILL COME SOON.
FOR NOW, WE ASK YOU PLEASE RESPECT OUR PRIVACY DURING THIS TRYING TIME.
WITH LOVE,
SHARON AND THE CATS
While best known to a wider audience for his concert and poster art, having worked with basically every good band with loud guitars from the 1990s—from Nirvana to Stone Temple Pilots to Pearl Jam to Helmet to the Melvins (who he also did a number of album covers for)—Kozik also left a lasting legacy on the music industry itself having founded Man’s Ruin Records in 1994, a label which was home to bands like Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age and High on Fire before closing up in 2001.
He was also prominent in the vinyl toy market, having worked as chief creative officer at Kidrobot—champions of the scene in the 00’s—after the company was bought by NECA after barely avoiding bankruptcy back in 2014.
As a tribute to the man—whose work is hanging literally right next to my chair as I type this—here’s a collection of some of his best posters:
