During the 1960’s, the United States was going through a
period where posters were hung on apartment walls more frequently than posted
on the streets. The first wave of hippie poster culture came from
Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. These posters were called psychedelic posters
because “the media and general public related these posters to
antiestablishment values, rock music, and psychedelic drugs” (Meggs 449). It is clear that this poster movement was
aimed towards the younger generation in the United States in the 1960s. The
posters also made statements about social views, rather than spreading
commercial messages and advertising.
Wes Wilson, also known as Robert Wesley Wilson, claims that
he was the first artist to create a psychedelic poster. “Wilson was the
innovator of the psychedelic poster style and created many of its stronger
images” (Meggs 449). Wilson was born in
Sacramento, California in 1937. He attended San Francisco State University and
worked at Contact Printing, when his career as a poster artist began. Wilson
was asked to design the posters for the Avalon Ballroom and Bill Graham’s
Fillmore Auditorium weekly dance concerts. “Wilson’s early work was unique, but
by mid-1967, so many artists had copied his style that he was easily replaced”
(Smithsonian American Art Museum 1).
Below, is Wes Wilson’s concert poster form The Association,
1966. “Lettering becomes an image, signifying a cultural and generational shift
in values” (Meggs 449). According to
newspapers, these posters read well to younger generations that would attend
concerts. Intelligent businessmen were unable to comprehend the lettering, but
the younger generations deciphered, rather than read, the message.
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| Wes Wilson, poster for The Association, 1966 |
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| Wes Wilson, poster for the Grateful Dead, Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band, and the Doors, 1966 |
Wilson's approach to poster making was quite improvisatory. “According
to the artist, he selected colors through visual experiences with LSD, as well
as from his professional experience as a printer”(Smithsonian American Art
Museum 1). Although his work was very unique, other artists began to follow the
trend in psychedelic posters. Other members of this movement included
Kelly/Mouse Studios and Victor Moscoso. Below, is Moscoso’s poster for the
Chambers Brothers, 1967. “The vibrant contrasting colors and Vienna Secession
lettering inside of the sunglasses implies the drug culture of the period”
(Meggs 449).
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| Victor Moscoso, poster for the Chambers Brothers, 1967 |
Moscoso was the only major artist of the movement with
formal art training. He is also known for his concert poster for the Miller
Blues Band, 1967. “The shimmering nude female figure in the center of the
poster reflects the uninhibited atmosphere of the 1960s” (Meggs 449).
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| Victor Moscoso, poster for the Miller Blues Band, 1967 |
In conclusion, the psychedelic poster movement in the United
States in the 1960s clearly was quite different than previous poster design.
Wes Wilson can be seen as the innovator of this poster movement, and his unique
style seemed to live on through other artists after him. After the poster
movement reached its peak in the early 1970s, the poster art seemed to make its
way to university campuses throughout America. These posters continued to
communicate to younger generations and were ideal since universities sponsor a
large number of events.
Works Cited
Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis. Meggs' History of
Graphic Design. Hoboken: J. Wiley & Sons, 2005. Print.
"Wes Wilson / American Art." Smithsonian American
Art Museum. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2014.
<http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=27389>.
"Wes Wilson - Posters." Wes Wilson. N.p., n.d.
Web. 05 Apr. 2014. <http://www.wes-wilson.com/>.
