Psychedelic Poster Design

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.

Wes Wilson, poster for The Association, 1966

 In the same year, 1966, Wilson created a concert poster for the Grateful Dead, Junior Wells Chicago Blues Band, and the Doors.

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).

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).

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/>.