Rock the Post- Part II

Back in February I wrote about the coolness that is 1960s rock poster designs−it looks like The Museum at Bethel Woods shares my interest, and earlier this month opened up a special exhibition, Byrd/Skolnick: A Tale of Two Posters. The exhibition looks at the work of David Edward Byrd and Arnold Skolnick, who were both commissioned to create posters for the original Woodstock Festival. It turns out that Byrd, a designer with the Fillmore East, was originally approached, and came up with a classic, Art Nouveau design, featuring a nude "Aquarius" pouring water from an urn; when the festival had to be moved from Woodstock mere weeks before it began, the organizers tried to get Byrd to do a redesign, but he was on vacation in the Caribbean. This lead to a last minute request to Skolnick, who turned around and created the much simpler graphic of the bird and guitar, which has become iconic.

Here's a fun video that looks at the development of '60s rock posters, and the influence from Parisian advertising posters of the late 19th to early 20th century... of course! I love Alphonse Mucha, Henri de Toulouse-Latrec, et. al−it's interesting to see how that art influenced the later designs:

Both Byrd and Skolnick will be in attendance at Bethel Woods this Saturday, April 28, starting at 2 p.m., for a special conversation with my colleague Stephanie Plunkett, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Norman Rockwell Museum. The talk will be held in conjunction with a rock art poster fair being held at the Bethel Woods museum that weekend, where collectors, vendors, scholars and print-makers will share their enthusiasm for the iconic art forms of rock posters and prints. It sounds like great fun, and the weekend kicks off with a screening of the film, American Artifact: The Rise of American Rock Poster Art: 

 This film looks great... I was not previously aware of it, but it seems to encapsulate everything from the classic '60s to modern-rock poster renaissance. I'm also intrigued by the look at DIY printmaking... I saw a bit of this technique at Wilco's Solid Sound Festival last summer−I believe it is part of the footage that I will include in my video profile on the event (coming soon!).

It was around the early '90s that you started to see the return of these vibrant, rock art posters... I remember it being in full-force by the time I was DJing at WBER-FM in Rochester, New York. That resulted in lots of cool promotional materials that complemented the edgy music scene.


Anyway, hopefully I'll get to see the exhibition at Bethel Woods and this documentary... and maybe I'll try my hand at designing a modern-rock poster at some point? I used to experiment with such things back in high school/college... it would be fun to try and "rock out" again.


(I know, I promised some modern examples... watch this, er, post...)


Bethel Woods Center website: www.bethelwoodscenter.org

Rock The Post- Part I

Peace + love! August 2009

It's Super Bowl Sunday! While Sarah and I aren't big football fans, we'll probably tune in-- it's one of those yearly events you like to say that you were "there" for.

How many children of the '60s claim the same for the original Woodstock Music Festival? Well, Sarah and I can say that we took part in the happening (to an extent). We both had the chance to be extras in Ang Lee's 2009 film Taking Woodstock: you'll see "Hippie Sarah" sitting on the back of a truck that's stuck in traffic, and I played one of the reporters in the press conference scene-- I didn't fare as well in costuming, I'm afraid... I look pretty dorky... but it was a great experience.

Woodstock poster, 1969.
Designed by Arnold Skolnick.
All rights reserved.

We also celebrated that "summer of love" by visiting the actual site where the festival took place-- that's Bethel, New York, not Woodstock. There is a pretty cool, interactive museum at the former site, where you can see and hear original artifacts from the "three days of peace and music." I think one of the cooler artifacts is the actual poster for the festival, designed by Arnold Skolnick. It has such a simple, bold design, that still works today (indeed, I think variations were used during the less memorable 1990s Woodstock festivals).

Taking my current graphic design course has gotten me thinking that some of the more striking designs I have seen over the years have been for rock concerts. In 2007 I had a chance to visit San Francisco, and realized how much I love some of those beautifully vibrant concert posters from the psychedelic era. Here are some great examples as featured in the Denver Art Museum's 2009 exhibition, The Psychedelic Experience: Rock Posters from the San Francisco Bay:


Yardbirds/Doors, Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, 1967
Designed by Bonnie MacLean

©Bill Graham Archives,

LLC

I think this poster definitely lives up to the Doors' charge to "break on through to the other side!" Artist Bonnie MacLean was married to legendary concert promoter Bill Graham. She helped her husband with everything involved in operating the Fillmore, including creating lively artwork on the venue's chalkboards to announce upcoming events. MacLean eventually went on to design posters which featured psychedelic hand lettering and detached-looking figures. She is quoted on the Denver Art Museum's website as saying that "what's significant about the posters is that they were created with an intensity that was lived. Emotions were real. We were all living in the moment."





Chambers Brothers, Matrix, San Francisco, 1967
Designed by Victor Moscoso

©1967 Neon Rose

I'm not really familiar with the Chamber Brothers. Apparently they were a soul/rock music group popular in the late 1960s (best known for the 1968 hit "Time Has Come Today"). Artist Victor Moscoso's poster summarizes that time in a different way-- I can definitely see versions of his style (vibrating color combinations and warped lettering) used in other designs from the period, and in artwork yet to come. Tell me this design wasn't also referenced in the poster for the 2000 movie, Almost Famous.






Grateful Dead, Oxford Circle, Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, 1966
Designed by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse

©Rhino Entertainment

Back in high school, I never imagined I would become a fan of The Grateful Dead. I certainly wasn't into the "culture," and I get bored by long, indulgent music jams. Sarah and exposure to a Dead satellite radio station have changed my impression-- there's a rollicking folk/blues spirit to their music that is similar to the vibe of many of the modern acts I love... I guess I didn't know what I was missing. I have been aware of the artwork though-- especially on my trip (no pun intended) to San Franscico. I always thought the skeleton and roses designs were pretty cool, as well as their spirited use of color (check out their houses in the Haight-Ashbury area!). Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse's use of classical elements with a modern twist makes the event look like a must-see.



I think that the "classic" rock poster was effectively revived in the 1990s-- you started seeing a lot of cool designs around Seattle during grunge rock's heyday, and that has continued with some excellent designs created for alternative/indie bands to this day. In a future post I'll try and look at some of the newer designs that have caught my eye. Makes me think it might be a fun feature to look at sometime on my TV music show.

Ok, time to turn on and tune in (to the Super Bowl). I'll get my blogging game on again later.

Cool rock memorabilia site: www.wolfgangsvault.com