DAM Exhibits

Bonnie Maclean Yardbirds

bwyman — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:22:54 +0000

Yardbirds, Doors, Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco

1967
Bonnie MacLean

MacLean’s first designs were for the upcoming events chalkboard in the Fillmore Auditorium lobby. Like Wes Wilson, she played with hand lettering. Her designs often focused on facial expressions of detached-looking figures.

Partial gift of David and Sheryl Tippit; partial purchase with Architecture, Design, and Graphics Department Acquisition Funds; and Volunteer Endowment Funds in honor of R. Craig Miller; © Bill Graham Archives, LLC. www.wolfgangsvault.com

Lee Conklin Steppenwolf

bwyman — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:24:42 +0000

Steppenwolf, Grateful Dead; Fillmore West

1968
Lee Conklin

“I was looking for inspiration, so I smoked a doobie, and I picked up this animal kingdom book. I came to this picture of a lion. As I looked at it I had the vision of the African priestess. Then other profiles came to me . . . Santana asked me to redraw it for them so they could use it for their first album cover, and I found out later that this lion is tattooed on people all over the world.”

Lee Conklin Protocol Harum

bwyman — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:27:56 +0000

Procol Harum, Santana, Fillmore West, San Francisco

1968
Lee Conklin

Conklin’s posters incorporate morphing, grotesque images like those experienced during a psychedelic trip. His imagery occupied every part of the page. “I thought it was fun to give more per inch,” he said.

Wes Wilson Moby Grape

bwyman — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:26:25 +0000

Moby Grape, Chambers Brothers, Winterland/Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco

1967
Wes Wilson

Wilson’s designs captured the full sensory experience of the dancehall environment and the visual distortions brought on by psychedelic drugs. “I selected my colors from my visual experiences with LSD, along with what I’d learned as a printer,” Wilson said.

Rick Griffin Flying Eyeball

bwyman — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 06:50:45 +0000

Flying Eyeball/Jimi Hendrix Experience, John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, Fillmore Auditorium/Winterland, San Francisco

1968
Rick Griffin

A tortured perfectionist, Griffin often reworked his drawings numerous times before he was satisfied. “Rick had more demons than all of us put together,” said fellow poster artist Randy Tuten.

Rick Griffin & Victor Moscoso: Jim Kweskin

bwyman — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:49:39 +0000

Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band, Sons of Champlin, Avalon Ballroom

1967
Rick Griffin & Victor Moscoso

Griffin and Moscoso designed two versions of this poster for Jim Kweskin Jug Band concerts at the Fillmore in San Francisco and the Denver Family Dog venue at 1601 West Evans, which opened in 1967 and closed after just three months.

Rick Griffin & Victor Moscoso: Jim Kweskin

tsilverman — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:45:35 +0000

Denver Splash/Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band, Solid Muldoon, 1601 West Evans Street, Denver

1967
Rick Griffin & Victor Moscoso

Alton Kelley & Stanley Mouse Zig Zag

bwyman — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 02:23:12 +0000

Zig Zag; Big Brother and the Holding Company, Quicksilver Messenger Service; Avalon Ballroom 1966

1966
Alton Kelley & Stanley Mouse

Mouse and Kelley built a visual language out of humor, symbolism, and drug-related imagery that spoke almost exclusively to the hippie subculture. Here, they appropriated the Zig-Zag rolling papers logo to attract the counterculture’s attention. “We were paranoid that the police would bust us,” Kelley said, “or that Zig-Zag would bust us.” The pair added a tongue-in-cheek reference to copyright infringement at the bottom of the poster.

Alton Kelley & Stanley Mouse Skull and Roses

bwyman — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:44:04 +0000

Skull and Roses/Grateful Dead, Oxford Circle, Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco

1966
Alton Kelley & Stanley Mouse

The skeleton and roses on this iconic Mouse Studios poster came from a 19th-century illustration in the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a book of 11th-century Persian poems the artists discovered in the public library. “We were fishing in the past, bringing up old stuff that should be seen again,” said Mouse. This image eventually became an emblem for the Grateful Dead.

For more on this poster, including lesson plans for teachers and their students, visit our Creativity Resource website.

Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse Girl with Green Hair

bwyman — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 06:41:30 +0000

Girl with Green Hair/Jim Kweskin Jug Band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Avalon

1966
Alton Kelley & Stanley Mouse

For this poster, Mouse and Kelley borrowed an 1896 illustration created by artist Alphonse Mucha for a Job cigarette paper advertisement. “It was a rip-off,” Mouse said. “It came right out of a book.” In her new context, Mucha’s siren became a sly allusion to the drug habits of the Haight community.