Hot & Cool: The Jazz Posters of Niklaus Troxler

Swiss artist Niklaus Troxler knows exactly what jazz music looks like. It’s unembraceably big, it doesn’t hold still for a second, and it’s as colorful as an untended wildflower garden. The MIA recently acquired twenty-five of Troxler’s jazz posters, created for European jazz festivals during the sixties. How this two-dimensional medium can capture so much sound and energy is a successful demonstration of the impact of Pop and Op Art. With subjects as varied as Thelonious Monk, Elvin Jones, and the Sam Rivers Quartet, and with a host of bold experiments with style, color, and type, no two posters are remotely similar; they all, however, are riffing on the same theme. 2400 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-870-3131; www.artsmia.org