If someone were to show you these album covers,
or these posters... Even if you've never heard of the bands featured, you’d probably be able to guess what kind
of music they play. This style has become synonymous with the
psychedelic '60s. But these abstract forms, and curly, barely
legible lettering — they weren’t created in the 1960s. They came from a celebrated art movement — one
that started almost a century earlier. In the late 1800s, new technology —
electrical power, telephones, cars — was changing the way the world worked.
And the way it looked. And some people, especially artists, living
through this technological revolution were... not so into all the new industry.
To be blunt, they thought it was ugly. Out of this conflict, a new global artistic
movement was born One that went by many different names. Like the Secessionists in Austria and the
Glasgow school in Scotland. But you might know it as: Art Nouveau, which
literally means “new art” in French. Its creators wanted to make art that reflected
the vibrancy of city life. They used flat, decorative patterns, feminine figures,
and organic and plant motifs, often stylized with fluid, abstract forms.
And they applied this new visual language to just about everything - from architecture
to paintings to textiles and beyond. Because they believed that aesthetics should
go hand in hand with utility. And no object was too mundane to be beautiful. Like this entrance to the Paris subway. Or these posters by Alphonse Mucha - advertising
champagne and biscuits which are just as much about being beautiful as they are about conveying
information. Okay, back to the hippies. Like the late 1800s, the 1960s were a time
of cultural upheaval. ARCHIVE: “The Vietnam struggle goes on”
ARCHIVE: “We want the Beatles” ARCHIVE: “The Beatles everybody”
In the US, the epicenter of this change was San Francisco, where hundreds of thousands
of young people descended upon the city. For things like protests,
and drum circles, and of course, concerts. Lots and lots and lots of concerts. Particularly dance concerts, featuring trippy,
psychedelic music from bands like Jefferson Airplane and the
Grateful Dead. And there was one major way to get people
to come to your concert: A good poster. Back then, these now iconic bands were just
starting out, playing back to back shows at venues like the Fillmore and the Avalon
And to advertise this new generation of hippie bands, those venues knew that plain typeface
and a grayscale photo just wasn’t going to cut it. So they commissioned work from a small group
of artists, who developed a brand-new formula for concert posters. One that pulled from a variety of established
design traditions - comic books, surrealism, and, of course, art nouveau. By the mid-60s, art nouveau was already experiencing
a bit of a resurgence. Especially when it came to textiles - dynamic,
floral designs were a natural fit for the hippie aesthetic. Which is probably why in 1965, a museum just
outside of San Francisco launched this exhibit. Legend says this is where some of those designers
were first exposed to Art Nouveau. One designer, Wes Wilson, told Time Magazine
that he admired their “idea of really putting it out there.” And when they started making new concert posters,
these designers took those art nouveau staples — and turned the dial up. Art nouveau is famous for its feminine figures
- most often nude, with flowing hair, and a “come hither” glance. A style the psychedelic designers clearly
picked up on. Look at the way these posters are covered
edge to edge with detailed, two dimensional illustrations. Particularly flowers,
and abstract curves, And, also peacocks - that’s an art nouveau
thing, too. They… loved peacocks
And sometimes, psychedelic designers would use images pulled directly from an art nouveau
poster — but always with a radically different color palette. Instead of art nouveau’s soft pastels. psychedelic artists opted for intense, high-contrast colors, said to make your eyes “vibrate”;
a reference to the “visual experiences of an LSD tripper.” And that curly, cloudy, barely legible font? It started here… on a 1902 poster by Austrian
designer Alfred Roller. In the 60s, artists adapted the bold, dynamic
typeface and pushed it even further - softening its lines and obscuring its edges. Making it nearly illegible. Which served a purpose. It was meant to grab your attention and keep
you interested - at least for as long as it took to figure out what the poster was trying
to tell you. The result was a ton of posters that looked
like art nouveau on acid. As the music of San Francisco spread throughout
the world, so did the aesthetic. In part because posters are easy to own and
reproduce and collect. With fans sometimes tearing them down immediately
after they were put up. The artists behind them even became celebrities
in their own right - a few of them got their own spread in Life Magazine. The posters they made — their vibrating
colors and winding lines — capture the energy of the 1960s. Just like the art nouveau ones represent the
late 1800s. And while these two time periods don’t mirror
each other perfectly, both movements were able to create something
that captured the feeling of a changing world. And their art reflected that.
This is a pretentious comment but I grew up in the church and always thought it was funny how modern church art and music is so derivative and uncreative, while psychedelic art is so easily recognizable and distinct. It always brought to mind the idea of art as expressing the 'other' and how ironic it was that drugs succeed in representing some kind of distinct mystic unknown where modern religion fails.
Like how even to people who know nothing about it, psychedelic rock and visual style are recognizable. I always thought that religious art would behave this way, as a revelation, if it were true. Like religious art would be wholly unique but recognizable, like it's flowing from something outside yourself. That's how psychedelic art comes across to me, because it's esoteric but it has a quality you can't quite describe or define.
Thank you for listening to my ted talk.
Commenting to read later. Hopefully some prominent 60’s psychedelic artists are mentioned because I would love to check them out!
Stanley Mouse, creator of many of the most recognizable posters from the sixties lives not far from here on SaltSpring Island. He still creates--you can check him out at http://www.mousestudios.com/I've always loved the work of Mouse, Alton Kelley, Rick Griffin, Wes Wilson, and the like. They managed the very difficult feat of creating an art movement outside of the art world.
I feel it should also be mentioned that it was Bill Graham who paid the artists. Apart from Family Dog, who copied Graham's moves, it was the Fillmore who gave space to the artists (Music and art). He hated it initially but being a savvy businessman realized he had a branding opportunity. You knew instantly it was a gig and a Fillmore gig. So here's an interesting tip bit. My old man was sent $1000 and 4 tickets by Graham to play the Filmore. He came from teh UK and couldn't believe how advanced the US was compared to norther UK in 69. They had an ice machine and TVs in hotel rooms! So.... after the gig, Graham gave my old man a full set of posters as a gift. Every gig..... so he was proud of the posters, otherwise, why gift them. When my old man next hit the road my mother threw them all away in the trash!!!
BTW - I collect posters and this was super informative. I thought I knew it all and learned!
It's Art Nouveau on acid
saved you 6 minutes