Psychedelic Posters

This short section in Chapter 21 was interesting because it was new design style—similar, yet different from previous styles—being introduced. Psychedelic posters were brought forth because of social activism. The name, psychedelic posters, was brought forth because of relating well with rock-n-roll and drugs. The posters were made up of particular elements, like, bright color, swirling forms, illegible lettering, and complimentary colors. They were hung on the walls of apartments more often than they were hung outside in the streets; university campuses were also popular places to display the posters. Instead of conveying a particular message, as with posters of other styles, their purpose was to make a point. Since the wording was swirly and hard to read, many people claimed that it was not readable, yet the younger audience was more determined to find out what was being said. Psychedelic posters were created by people who had taught themselves; music and dance were portrayed in the designs for their promoters. Some interesting people made impacts during the time of psychedelic posters, including: Robert Wesley Wilson; Victor Moscow; Peter Max; David Lance Goines. Wilson was the main innovator for this poster style. Mocoso was an artist who was actually taught, unlike the rest of the artists. Max created posters closely resembling Art Nouveau, but with a new look added to it—more imagery and soft colors. Goines studied calligraphy and used symmetry, line drawings, contour lines, and flat planes of color with his poster designs. By the time the 1980s came, photography and paintings were becoming limited-edition posters.

The most interesting thing I learned from this section of Psychedelic Posters was how similar it was to Art Nouveau, even though new ideas were added. The forms were organic and simple, with a flowy look to them, yet the color was much more bold and energetic. Within this poster style and art nouveau, both present motion because of the way the flowy lines are shown. But with the psychedelic posters, much more energy is felt because of the bursts of complimentary colors and swirly letterforms. It’s almost as if everything is coming alive; music can be heard when you look at the psychedelic posters.

The book claimed that many people could not read the lettering, and the style was more colorful and energetic than the previous styles, communicating well with the younger generation. Were the psychedelic posters accepted by elders?