“The Process” contains an interactive exploration of how a poster is printed using offset lithography. The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s online exhibition of American posters from the 1930s to the 1990s, which explores the strategies of commerce, propaganda, and patriotism. PBS Summer of LoveĪ website with resources related to the 2007 PBS documentary, Summer of Love, inkling video clips and a teachers guide. Stanley Mouse's website has biographic information as well as images of his work. You can access images of other posters as well as information about the artists and culture of the psychedelic scene. The Denver Art Museum’s website accompanying the exhibition, 'The Psychedelic Experience: Rock Posters from the San Francisco Bay Area, 1965–71,' on view from March 21-July 19, 2009. Audio Tracks from the Grateful Dead Websites The Psychedelic Experience The song is accompanied by photos of the band, their records, and posters. This live recording of 'I Know You Rider' by the Grateful Dead is from Septemat the Avalon Ballroom-the same concert featured on the poster. “That way I could do whatever I wanted and not be pigeonholed.” Mouse and Kelley liked all of their posters to be different: “I always tried to keep my style open,” said Mouse. The skeleton and roses on this iconic 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. They also searched for images in art books and other illustrated texts from the past. The two artists often worked with contemporary images and themes that they found in advertisements and on product labels, like the wrapper from the popular Abba Zabba candy bar. It was a furious time, but I think most great art is created in a furious moment,” said Mouse. “There was no time to think about what we were doing. Mouse and Kelley started out designing a new poster every week for the Avalon, and by the end of their first year they had also created 26 posters for the Fillmore. Over the course of five years, the two men commissioned around 500 posters. Two main dance halls supported the development of the psychedelic poster-the Fillmore Auditorium, owned by concert producer Bill Graham, and the Avalon Ballroom, run by Chet Helms under the name Family Dog Productions. Loud music, swaying crowds, and colorful light shows all contributed to a multi-sensory event. Designs for concert posters were a visual reflection of the experiences one might have at a dance concert. The term “psychedelic” comes from the Greek psyche (mind) and deloun (make visible or reveal), and refers to the mind-altering effects of LSD, a hallucinogenic drug that was frequently used at these events. Psychedelic posters were originally created as advertisements for dance concerts that took place in San Francisco from 1965 to 1971. “When Mouse and I saw a poster we thought was really far out, we’d say, ‘Now we’ve gotta do one that good.’” “It was never about competition with the other artists so much as it was about incentive,” said Kelley. At their studio, Mouse and Kelley often hosted poster-making “jams” where groups of artists gathered together and worked on posters. While Mouse was responsible for lettering and drawing, Kelley usually chose the image they would use and laid out the design. Kelley had begun his artistic career drawing posters and handbills for dance parties put on by the Family Dog commune, a group of hippies living in San Francisco. That’s what really inspired me to start doing posters.”Īfter arriving in California, Mouse met Alton Kelley and the two came together to form Mouse Studios. It was the handbill for this event that led to Mouse’s interest in poster art: “I was really turned on by that lettering and I found out later that Wes Wilson had done it. He arrived in San Francisco on the evening of the Trips Festival, a three-day multimedia event that set the stage for later dance concerts. He left Detroit in 1965, at the age of 25, and headed to California. Mouse was raised in Detroit and got his start designing graphics for hot rods and motorcycles. This poster was made through the collaborative efforts of two artists-Stanley “Mouse” Miller and Alton Kelley.

Grateful dead skull