Poster
1968 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Fillmore in San Francisco is a historic music venue, named after its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard. Known as the Fillmore Auditorium in the mid-1960s, concert promoter Bill Graham began a series of concerts featuring bands from the counterculture of the time. In 1968, due to his spiralling success, he moved to a larger venue which he named Fillmore West. Having closed in 1971, and after extensive repair work to fix earthquake damage, Graham's venue was revived when Live Nation reopened the original Fillmore venue in 1994.
San Francisco in the mid-1960s was the hub of the LSD and Hippie scene and the cultural and political rebellion of 1967's Summer of Love. The resulting influence of these factors on the artists of the area created the fantastic psychedelic posters of the Fillmore. Art dealer Jacaeber Kastor said of the posters, "They couldn't just tell you the information about the show. They had to tell you what kind of people you might meet, what kind of far out trip you might have or perhaps even reveal the mysteries of the universe. Wow. Quantum mechanics, visual mudwrestling, Acid test pop quiz on a phone pole!"
The artist of this poster, Victor Moscoso, is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his psychedelic designs of the 1960s. Born in Spain, Moscoso moved to the States early in his childhood, and went on to study art at Cooper Union in New York City and at Yale University. In 1959 he moved to the west coast of America, attending the San Francisco Art Institute, and remaining to take up a post teaching lithography after his graduation. During the late sixties, he produced concert posters for Bill Graham (at the Fillmore) and the Family Dog (Chet Helms, at Fillmore, and later the Avalon Ballroom). He is also known for his involvement with the underground comics’ scene, and was a regular contributor to Zap Comix.
This poster advertised a concert featuring Iron Butterfly and James Cotton Blues Band. Iron Butterfly was a psychedelic rock band, known for their 1968 hit In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida; the album from which this song came is the 31st best selling album in the world, with sales of over 25 million copies.
San Francisco in the mid-1960s was the hub of the LSD and Hippie scene and the cultural and political rebellion of 1967's Summer of Love. The resulting influence of these factors on the artists of the area created the fantastic psychedelic posters of the Fillmore. Art dealer Jacaeber Kastor said of the posters, "They couldn't just tell you the information about the show. They had to tell you what kind of people you might meet, what kind of far out trip you might have or perhaps even reveal the mysteries of the universe. Wow. Quantum mechanics, visual mudwrestling, Acid test pop quiz on a phone pole!"
The artist of this poster, Victor Moscoso, is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his psychedelic designs of the 1960s. Born in Spain, Moscoso moved to the States early in his childhood, and went on to study art at Cooper Union in New York City and at Yale University. In 1959 he moved to the west coast of America, attending the San Francisco Art Institute, and remaining to take up a post teaching lithography after his graduation. During the late sixties, he produced concert posters for Bill Graham (at the Fillmore) and the Family Dog (Chet Helms, at Fillmore, and later the Avalon Ballroom). He is also known for his involvement with the underground comics’ scene, and was a regular contributor to Zap Comix.
This poster advertised a concert featuring Iron Butterfly and James Cotton Blues Band. Iron Butterfly was a psychedelic rock band, known for their 1968 hit In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida; the album from which this song came is the 31st best selling album in the world, with sales of over 25 million copies.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Lithography on paper |
| Brief description | Poster advertising Iron Butterfly, Sir Douglas Quintet Plus 2, and Sea Train, performing October 17 to 19, 1968 at Fillmore West, San Francisco. |
| Physical description | Poster advertising Iron Butterfly, Sir Douglas Quintet Plus 2, and Sea Train, performing October 17 to 19, 1968 at Fillmore West, San Francisco. Black border with yellow to green gradient typography, and central surrealist illustration. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Copy number | First Edition |
| Credit line | Given by the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum |
| Object history | Transferred as part of a collection from the Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York, in 1985. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Place depicted | |
| Summary | The Fillmore in San Francisco is a historic music venue, named after its original location at the intersection of Fillmore Street and Geary Boulevard. Known as the Fillmore Auditorium in the mid-1960s, concert promoter Bill Graham began a series of concerts featuring bands from the counterculture of the time. In 1968, due to his spiralling success, he moved to a larger venue which he named Fillmore West. Having closed in 1971, and after extensive repair work to fix earthquake damage, Graham's venue was revived when Live Nation reopened the original Fillmore venue in 1994. San Francisco in the mid-1960s was the hub of the LSD and Hippie scene and the cultural and political rebellion of 1967's Summer of Love. The resulting influence of these factors on the artists of the area created the fantastic psychedelic posters of the Fillmore. Art dealer Jacaeber Kastor said of the posters, "They couldn't just tell you the information about the show. They had to tell you what kind of people you might meet, what kind of far out trip you might have or perhaps even reveal the mysteries of the universe. Wow. Quantum mechanics, visual mudwrestling, Acid test pop quiz on a phone pole!" The artist of this poster, Victor Moscoso, is an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his psychedelic designs of the 1960s. Born in Spain, Moscoso moved to the States early in his childhood, and went on to study art at Cooper Union in New York City and at Yale University. In 1959 he moved to the west coast of America, attending the San Francisco Art Institute, and remaining to take up a post teaching lithography after his graduation. During the late sixties, he produced concert posters for Bill Graham (at the Fillmore) and the Family Dog (Chet Helms, at Fillmore, and later the Avalon Ballroom). He is also known for his involvement with the underground comics’ scene, and was a regular contributor to Zap Comix. This poster advertised a concert featuring Iron Butterfly and James Cotton Blues Band. Iron Butterfly was a psychedelic rock band, known for their 1968 hit In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida; the album from which this song came is the 31st best selling album in the world, with sales of over 25 million copies. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | BG 141 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.720-2010 |
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| Record created | December 1, 2010 |
| Record URL |
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