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The Art of Rock: Posters from Presley to Punk |
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Monday, 06 February 2006 08:52 |
The Art of Rock
Posters from Presley to Punk
Paul Grushkin
Abbeville Press
By John Sinclair
The cultural revolution that rocked America during the 196Os had perhaps its most perfect reflection in the dazzling dance/concert posters created by a small group of visionary artists in San Francisco and Detroit. The posters advertised each week's musical events at such legendary venues as the Avalon, Fillmore and Grande Ballrooms.
Drawn by Wes Wilson, Alton Kelly, Rick Griffin, Victor Moscoso and Detroiters Stanley Mouse Miller, Gary Grimshaw and Carl Lundgren, these early rock posters precisely captured the emerging spirit of a new generation of white Americans who were beginning to seek release from the ugly karma of their forefathers.
This quest included embracing African-American music and dance forms, mind-altering substances from marijuana to LSD, liberated sexuality, cooperative or communal living, esoteric religions, whole foods, long hair, wild dress, flamboyant public behavior, mass celebrations and protests, and a commitment to end all war, racism, class oppression, hunger, poverty and ignorance everywhere for all time.
OK, so this was too much to hope for. The cultural revolution failed entirely to replace the culture of television, nuclear weapons and endless appliances. But the fact remains that there was a time, just 20 years ago, when it all seemed possible, and the poster designs collected by cultural historian Paul Grushkin in this magnificent book remain, more present than ever, as irrefutable evidence of the vast scope and design, the immense innocence and optimism of the psychedelic pioneers in art, music, social relations and consciousness expansion.
The Art of Rock is a gigantic book in every way: 516 11X13-inch pages; over 1,500 full-color reproductions of posters by hundreds of artists--from the layout man at Globe Posters in Baltimore to the anonymous designer of CBGB's rock bills of the ' 80s and a fascinating text by Grushkin that incorporates hundreds of interviews with the artists, promoters, printers, musicians and collectors. With a list price of almost $90, it's tempting to say this book would come cheap at twice the price.
But you must see this book for yourself. There is simply no way to describe its splendors. Page after page of eye-popping, mind-boggling poster art marches by, carrying with the artwork a virtual progressive cultural history of the past 30 years in the bands, venues and events announced therein.
For those of us who had the good fortune to participate in this vibrant panorama of creative expression, a trip through the pages of Grushkin's encyclopedic work floods the mind with incredibly vivid imagery of persons, places and performances warmly remembered or long forgotten. The many benevolent flashbacks triggered by these once-familiar designs first seen on telephone poles or in store windows and then on one's kitchen or bedroom walls reverberate through the secret storehouses of memory to detonate long chains of emotion and association.
For those to whom "the '60s," the "hippie movement," the "psychedelic era," the "cultural revolution," the "golden age of rock & roll" are merely legendary, largely unsubstantiated notions of a bygone age, The Art of Rock is an indispensable guide through the artistic and cultural turbulence that shook America between 1965 and 1975. Suddenly the primary documents, long obscured by the passage of time and the triumph of simple-minded advertising art, TV commercials and radio jingles, are before our eyes again, and their impact is perhaps even stronger now than ever before.
For Detroiters, The Art of Rock holds special interest because, for once, the Motor City gains recognition as one of the two creative fountainheads of the musical and cultural outpouring of the '60s and early '70s. While San Francisco definitely gave rise to the whole psychedelic movement dance concerts, long-haired rock bands, light shows, posters, public tripping, communes, free concerts in the parks Detroit followed close behind, and the steady passage of folks "going to Cal" and returning with acid, news and artifacts kept Detroiters in close touch with what was happening on the Coast.
Stanley Miller, proprietor of Mouse Studios and one of the most widely recognized poster artists of the era, got his start as a Detroit teenager drawing hot-rod cartoons and air-brushing monster drawings on T-shirts at the Michigan State Fair before arriving in San Francisco in June 1966 to take over designing the posters for the Avalon Ballroom. Mouse joined a large Detroit contingent already resident in San Francisco and more or less centered on the great Detroit guitarist James Gurley of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and his wife Nancy.
At precisely the same time, Gary Grimshaw, a Lincoln Park native who had grown up with Rob Tyner of the MC-5 as his best pal in high school, was discharged from the Navy. He lit briefly in San Francisco before returning to Detroit in time to create the poster for the opening of the Grande Ballroom in October 1966. This poster, Grimshaw's first, was followed by hundreds of distinctive original designs for musical and cultural events in Michigan, from the Grande Ballroom to the first Rock and Roll Revival at the State Fairgrounds, to the Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festivals, to Bookie's Club 870, Traxx, St. Andrews Hall and other contemporary venues.
In The Art of Rock Grimshaw is accorded his first major play as a seminal poster artist and continuing master of graphic design. More than 35 Grimshaw poster designs are reproduced here, and Grushkin's text examines Grimshaw's career in some depth. One look at his classic works in the rock-poster idiom will tell you why.
While this writer has been associated with Grimshaw in many musical, cultural and political ventures almost continuously since 1966, and while we remain partners (along with Frank and Peggy Bach) unto the very present, I must say that I was one of Grimshaw's biggest fans from the moment I laid eyes on his Seagulls Admitted Free" poster for the Grande's opening weekend. It was the power and artfulness of his work that made me want to work with him, and which continues to offer inspiration and delight in the present era.
Whatever you do, get your hands on a copy of this book. Save your pennies if you have to, because this will be one of the best investments you've ever made. These posters will vibrate inside your brain for a long time to come.
--Detroit
1987
(c) 1987, 2006 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved.
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