Bill Graham Presents Quicksilver Messenger Service
Poster
1967 (made)
1967 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In the early days of the Fillmore, Bonnie MacLean could be found collecting tickets, handing out flyers, counting money – even blowing up balloons! It was her skill at lettering forthcoming events on the chalkboard that prompted Bill Graham to make her a present of art equipment for Christmas 1967. Inspired to design posters, she developed a unique style, based on Gothic, Art Nouveau and New Age influences. The people who populate her posters often wear dreamy expressions, calm and nonchalant, evoking the aloof attitude of the sixties.
Here, MacLean's design ‘graphically’ introduces the performers. A Messenger with a winged helmet, carrying a scroll, evokes Mercury, messenger of the Roman gods, and suggests the element of the same name, also known as ‘quicksilver’. He darts over the ‘Grass Roots’ that grow upon the banks flanking the ‘Mad River’. Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of San Francisco’s most noteworthy psychedelic bands, who although popular in the Bay area, never received the nationwide recognition achieved by contemporaries such as The Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane.
Here, MacLean's design ‘graphically’ introduces the performers. A Messenger with a winged helmet, carrying a scroll, evokes Mercury, messenger of the Roman gods, and suggests the element of the same name, also known as ‘quicksilver’. He darts over the ‘Grass Roots’ that grow upon the banks flanking the ‘Mad River’. Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of San Francisco’s most noteworthy psychedelic bands, who although popular in the Bay area, never received the nationwide recognition achieved by contemporaries such as The Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Bill Graham Presents Quicksilver Messenger Service (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour offset lithograph |
| Brief description | 'Bill Graham Presents Quicksilver Messenger Service' psychedelic poster by Bonnie MacLean for Bill Graham, USA, 1967 |
| Physical description | Psychedelic poster advertising a concert for Quicksilver Messenger Service. A grinning, yellow figure wearing a blue winged hat with yellow lightning-like horns, and blue gloves and a cape flies across the poster. Only its torso is visible, and it carries a scroll in its hand. Below it is a bank of foliage and a stream. The names of the bands and some of the event details appear as yellow text on the creature's cape. The lettering reads, 'Bill Graham presents in San Francisco Quicksilver Messenger Service, Grass Roots, Mad River, Lights by Holy See', and in the river below 'Bonnie MacLean © 1967 Bill Graham #87, Fillmore'. The dates of the event, 'Oct. 5 - 6 - 7' are printed on the yellow scroll in purple letters. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | In the early days of the Fillmore, Bonnie MacLean could be found collecting tickets, handing out flyers, counting money – even blowing up balloons! It was her skill at lettering forthcoming events on the chalkboard that prompted Bill Graham to make her a present of art equipment for Christmas 1967. Inspired to design posters, she developed a unique style, based on Gothic, Art Nouveau and New Age influences. The people who populate her posters often wear dreamy expressions, calm and nonchalant, evoking the aloof attitude of the sixties. Here, MacLean's design ‘graphically’ introduces the performers. A Messenger with a winged helmet, carrying a scroll, evokes Mercury, messenger of the Roman gods, and suggests the element of the same name, also known as ‘quicksilver’. He darts over the ‘Grass Roots’ that grow upon the banks flanking the ‘Mad River’. Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of San Francisco’s most noteworthy psychedelic bands, who although popular in the Bay area, never received the nationwide recognition achieved by contemporaries such as The Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane. |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.426-2004 |
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| Record created | August 2, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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