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The Wailers

Poster
1966 (made)
Artist/Maker
West Coast Lithograph Co. (printers)
Wilson, Wes (artist)
Place of origin
United States (made)

Wes Wilson described his graphic design aesthetic as "visual poetry set into poster formats." Wilson worked primarily in bold colours, to complement the psychedelic light shows which took place during performances at the Fillmore Auditorium and its rival the Avalon Ballroom. His eye-catching posters feature inventive lettering - which became increasingly stylised and illegible as his style evolved.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Advertising
Entertainment & Leisure
Posters
Caribbean
Object type
Poster
TitleThe Wailers (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour offset lithograph
Paper
Ink
Brief description
'The Wailers...' psychedelic concert poster by Wes Wilson in blue and red. USA, 1966.
Physical description
Blue and red performance poster with text written in a bulbous spiral. Printed on a white sheet.
Dimensions
  • Height: 51.4cm
  • Width: 35.1cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'The/ Wailers/ "It's You Alone"/ Quicksilver/ Messenger . Service/ Fillmore . Auditorium/ on June/ Fri. Sat. 17 - 18'
  • Presented by/ Bill Graham
  • 9pm Fillmore &/ Geary in/ S.F.
  • Wes Wilson 661-5362 (along right margin)
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
Psychedelic Art
Performances
Music
Place depicted
San Francisco
Summary
Wes Wilson described his graphic design aesthetic as "visual poetry set into poster formats." Wilson worked primarily in bold colours, to complement the psychedelic light shows which took place during performances at the Fillmore Auditorium and its rival the Avalon Ballroom. His eye-catching posters feature inventive lettering - which became increasingly stylised and illegible as his style evolved.
Associated object
E.636-2004
Bibliographic references
  • Bill Graham Presents: the art of the Fillmore - The Poster Series 1966-1971. Lemke & Kastor. Petaluma: Acid Test Productions. 1997.
  • The Great Poster Trip: Art Eureka. Cummings G. Walker, editor. Richard D. Teater, designer. Coyne & Blanchard. 1968.
  • Christoph Grunberg, ed. Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era London: Tate, 2005. 239 p. : ill. (some col.) ISBN: 1854375954.
Other number
LS.932 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.512-2004

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Record createdNovember 9, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O107143/the-wailers-poster-wilson-wes/
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