Joao Rosa’s Experimental Approach to Designing Gummo
Born in São Paulo, Joao Rosa was steeped in the arts from a young age. His mother, a passionate cinephile, introduced him to the films of Akira Kurosawa and Martin Scorsese, while his father, an animator and computer enthusiast, inspired him to find a creative outlet in new technology. Rosa’s aesthetic sensibility was further honed during the thirteen years he lived in Los Angeles, where he studied visual effects at the Gnomon Workshop and met the editor Leo Scott, who introduced him to the filmmaker Harmony Korine. In 2023, Rosa joined Korine in cofounding EDGLRD, a Miami-based studio that seeks to push film, gaming, advertising, and other media into cutting-edge new territory.
When it came time to design the artwork for the Criterion release of Korine’s 1997 directorial debut, Gummo, Rosa knew he wanted to discover it through playful exploration. The result is a cover image that strikes a balance between capturing the essence of the movie and staying true to EDGLRD’s forward-thinking mission. In this video, Rosa describes the process that led to the final Gummo image and sheds light on his close collaboration with Korine.
