Weeds Tavern – by Dave Hoekstra (Hardcover)

About the Book

“Before the days of social media and the internet, Weeds Tavern s host and bartender Sergio Mayora attracted a loyal, diverse, and eclectic crowd to the bar with his unique and vibrant collage poster art promoting the tavern.”–

Book Synopsis

Before the days of social media and the internet, Weeds Tavern’s host and bartender Sergio Mayora attracted a loyal, diverse, and eclectic crowd to the bar with his unique and vibrant collage poster art promoting the tavern.

These advertisements were singular cut-and-paste works of art. From 1988’s “Weed’s Pollution Night” to 2004’s poetry night “Making America Safe in the War Against Censorship,” many of Mayora’s posters predicted the world we are living in today.

Echoing the bright colors and catchy phrases of Mayora’s poster art, Weeds Tavern: Poster Art by Sergio Mayora collects over 40 of these iconic posters that once adorned the phone booths and streetlamps of Chicago’s streets. Featuring text by celebrated Chicago journalist Dave Hoekstra and a foreword by award-winning actor and Weeds patron Michael Shannon, this book is sure to delight both those who frequented Weeds and those who wish they could have been part of the magic.

Review Quotes

“[Sergio’s] posters were very interesting. It’s easy to make a collage but it’s hard to make a good collage. The posters are very vibrant. He creates this fantastical world that uses geometric shapes and primordial figures that are sometimes reminiscent of Chichen Itza. The shapes and compositions manage to meld the ancient world with the futuristic cosmic. His work captures my imagination.” — Marla Donato, adjunct professor, Columbia College

“[The] book contains more than 40 posters that Mayora designed and created over the years. They are playful, striking, humorous and philosophical, forming a gallery of inventive, compelling and thought-provoking collages.” — Chicago Tribune

About the Author

Sergio Mayora is an artist, poet, singer-songwriter, and actor. The long-time bartender and host at Chicago’s iconic Weeds Tavern, Sergio became well-known for creating his collage posters to promote the club. Commissioned by Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation to make a four-plate spirit box for Carlos Santana, his work has been shown at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, the Citlalin Gallery Theater and the INTUIT (The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art) gallery in Chicago.

Dave Hoekstra is a Chicago author-journalist. From 1985 through 2014, he was a columnist-critic at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he won the 2013 Studs Terkel Community Media Award. He has contributed pieces to the Chicago Reader, New City, and Raw Vision. He has written several books, including Beacons in the Darkness: Hope and Transformation Among America’s Community Newspapers, The Supper Club Book: A Celebration of a Midwest Tradition, and The People’s Place: Soul Food Restaurants and Reminiscences from The Civil Rights Era to Today. Dave wrote and co-produced the WTTW-Channel 11 PBS special, “The Staple Singers and the Civil Rights Movement,” nominated for a 2001-02 Chicago Emmy for Outstanding Achievement for a Documentary Program. He also wrote and co-produced the award-winning 2018 full-length documentary and companion book The Center of Nowhere: The Spirit and Sounds of Springfield, Missouri.

Michael Shannon is an Academy Award-nominated actor. During his time performing on the stage in Chicago, he was a patron of Weeds Tavern.