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.

Collection of David and Sheryl Tippit; Family Dog © 2009 Rhino Entertainment.