The Neon Rose series was produced by Moscoso for the Matrix, a venue co-owned by Paul Kantner and Marty Balin, of the band Jefferson Airplane, and San Francisco’s first folk night club. Moscoso attended the San Francisco Art Institute, and after graduation he remained to take up a post teaching lithography. It is therefore not surprising that Moscoso, more than any of his peers, exploited and developed modern lithographic practices, and explored complex colour theory, using techniques such as overprinting to build up his final image. In this poster, the portrait of George Washington is obvious, and it is only after greater scrutiny that a superimposed image of a skull reveals itself. Appearing initially as a pink highlighted area on the face, after closer inspection, perhaps under the flashing lights at a concert, the double-image becomes more obvious, and then oscillates between the ghostly skull and the face of the late President.

This idea of a message or meaning that is revealed only after closer scrutiny, introduces the idea of a ‘slow poster’, an approach that reached its zenith with the work of Wilson and Moscoso. Many psychedelic posters require time to decipher the words or to see and explore hidden parts of the image, a process that is quite at odds with the notion of what makes a good advertising poster. Because these posters were not concerned with the normal channels of business or commercial advertising, the artists had the opportunity to explore a new visual idiom. Their style fitted with the attitudes and ideas of their audience. The consumers of these posters can be regarded as part of a club, a group of people who could relate to the designs and were happy to spend more time exploring the significance of the design.