1. Psychedelic Poster Art

2. Psychedelic Beginnings The sixties were the age of youth, children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers and young adults. The times moved away from the conservative fifties thinking and a cultural revolution was started in America. The youth of the sixties wanted change in their generation, unsatisfied with the precedent set by the previous generation. These changes would touch education, values, lifestyles, laws, and entertainment. For a brief time, Pscyhedelia was a reflection of the times of 1960s youth culture

3. Signs of the times The Civil Rights movement made great changes in the 1960’s The Civil Rights act of 1964 was amended to include women Birth control became widely available and abortion for cause was legalized in Colorado

4. Signs of the times Respect for authority declined among the youth and crime rates increased greatly compared to the 1950 Marijuana use sky rocketed as well as use of LSD (was said to open the mind) The hippie movement promoted drugs, rock and roll music and sexual freedom They opposed violence and endorsed peace The legendary Woodstock Festival was first held Hippies moved to Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco; East Village, New York or lived in communes.

5. Signs of the times

6. The CIA attacked Cuba at the Bay of Pigs John F. Kennedy was a young, well loved president in the 1960s. He was assassinated in 1963 The draft was accelerated and anti- war sentiment grew in the U.S. College students organized anti-war protests, draft dodgers fled the country and soldiers were becoming disrespectful to authority, aiming their anger at our government Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Robert Kennedy were all assassinated in the 1960s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren in Apollo 13 were the first to walk on the moon

7. Influences Psychedelic poster art was used as a form of social expression rather than posters of previous times that were used as advertisements These posters were displayed in people’s homes rather than in public places This style was also used to promote concerts and albums

8. Influences Psychedelic style was largely influenced by the flowing curves of art nouveau even though this was not the style that preceded it Along with art nouveau, psychedelic style also used Austrian secessionist lettering, East Indian symbols, Victorian typography, with a drug inspired palate and a comic book style It was a union of art, literature, culture and music Newspapers, magazines, posters, album covers, clothing, jewelry, furniture and cars were all media for which this style was utilized

9. Psychedelic Style Psychedelia was a visual code that viewer who could decipher this code with the naked eye or with the help of drugs became a part of an “underground” family These posters were used to pack auditoriums filled with their target audiences; the members of the “underground” family The name itself stems from the drugs that were popular during this time Poster artists tried to reproduce the experience of “tripping” or being “high” in their art

10. Psychedelic Style Characteristics of Psychedelic style were; Clashing, bright colors Wild imagery Optical vibrating effects Flowing curves Comic-book style Barely legible typography

11. Influential Designers Victor Moscoso Wes Wilson Seymour Chwast Peter Max David Lance Goines Gary Grimshaw Steve Seymour Lee Conklin

12. Psychedelic Style: Victor Moscoso He was a formally trained designer His signature style was art nouveau and inspired curvilinear lines, illegible as possible hand drawn type, intense use of optical vibration and reducing photograph by the conversion of all grey to black and white through several passes through the xerox machine

13. Psychedelic Style: Victor Moscoso

17. Psychedelic Style: Wes Wilson Robert Wesley “Wes” Wilson was an innovator of the Psychedelic poster Some of his work is the most popular of this time period His style was similar to Moscoso He also was influenced heavily by art nouveau and chromatic vibration

18. Psychedelic Style: Wes Wilson

27. Psychedelic Style: David Lance Goines David Lance Goines designed, illustrated and hand lettered posters He integrated diverse sources of inspiration His posters were symmetrical in composition and contained planes of flat color He used simplified line drawing and subtle stripes that outlined the contour of the forms

28. Psychedelic Style: David Lance Goines

31. Psychedelic Style: Peter Max Peter Max combined art nouveau, psychedelic art, pop art and comic book art His designs were lighter than other posters of this time His posters depicted transcendental themes Max’s unique symbolism and vibrant color palette have continued to inspire new generations of Americans throughout the decades

32. Psychedelic Style: Peter Max

37. Psychedelic Poster Mania The band Grateful Dead is known for their use of psychedelic art as their trademark style

38. Psychedelic Poster Mania

43. This is a poster that was recreated for a 2003 tour for the Grateful Dead

44. Psychedelic Poster Mania

45. Cover of Jimi Hendrix’s album, Axis: Bold as Love (1967)

46. Psychedelic Poster Mania

49. Lee Conklin

50. Psychedelic Poster Mania Another concert poster, this one is sponsored by Zig-Zag rolling papers

51. Psychedelic Poster Mania

53. Note the psychedelic colors and shapes on the outside of the building

54. Psychedelic Poster Mania

55. Gary Grimshaw

56. Psychedelic Poster Mania Gary Grimshaw

57. Psychedelic Poster Mania Lee Conklin

58. Psychedelic Poster Mania Lee Conklin

59. Psychedelic Poster Mania

61. This poster has type that is almost illegible and it becomes part of her body

62. Psychedelic Poster Mania In the 1970s Psychedelic art reached its peak During the 1980s posters were considered decorative Today you can see several of these posters on college campus dorm rooms where they are still popular

63. Psychedelic Poster Mania: Bibliography 1.Nov. 3, 2007 http://www.pooterland.com/index2/art/wilson/wilson.htmlhttp://www.pooterland.com/index2/art/wilson/wilson.html 2.Nov. 3, 2007 http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/sixties/posters.htmlhttp://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/sixties/posters.html 3.Nov. 4, 2007 http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005251.htmlhttp://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005251.html 4.Nov. 4, 2007 http://www.goines.net/Poster_art1/index.htmlhttp://www.goines.net/Poster_art1/index.html 5.Heyman, Therese Thau. Posters American Style.New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,1998. 6.Heller, Steven., and Seymour Chwast. Graphic Style:from Victorian to Post- Modern New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,1988. 7.Meggs, Philip B., and Alston W. Purvis. Megg’s History of Graphic Design. 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2006.