Bill Graham Presents
Poster
1970 (designed)
1970 (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 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 creator of this poster, David Singer, was an untrained artist doing odd jobs for graphic design companies around San Francisco. He had been interested in collage from an early age, taking inspiration from the surrealism of Max Ernst and Magritte, combining this with the counter-culture of the 1960s. After showing several pieces to Bill Graham, he was hired to produce 12 posters, which Graham liked instantly, as the lettering was legible, a departure from the previous poster art of the Fillmore. Singer worked for Graham right up until the closure of the Fillmore in 1971, for which he created the final design; he was reaching his zenith, adapting Art Deco and Art Nouveau lettering, using collage and freehand drawing to create distinctive graphics, when the venue shut in the summer of 1971.
This poster advertised a line-up headlined by John Sebastian, an ex-member of The Lovin' Spoonful, who had embarked on a solo career in 1968. Also on the bill was Buddy Miles, who had previously been the drummer in Jimi Hendrix's band, but was an excellent singer in his own right.
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 creator of this poster, David Singer, was an untrained artist doing odd jobs for graphic design companies around San Francisco. He had been interested in collage from an early age, taking inspiration from the surrealism of Max Ernst and Magritte, combining this with the counter-culture of the 1960s. After showing several pieces to Bill Graham, he was hired to produce 12 posters, which Graham liked instantly, as the lettering was legible, a departure from the previous poster art of the Fillmore. Singer worked for Graham right up until the closure of the Fillmore in 1971, for which he created the final design; he was reaching his zenith, adapting Art Deco and Art Nouveau lettering, using collage and freehand drawing to create distinctive graphics, when the venue shut in the summer of 1971.
This poster advertised a line-up headlined by John Sebastian, an ex-member of The Lovin' Spoonful, who had embarked on a solo career in 1968. Also on the bill was Buddy Miles, who had previously been the drummer in Jimi Hendrix's band, but was an excellent singer in his own right.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Bill Graham Presents (series title) |
| Materials and techniques | Lithography on index paper. |
| Brief description | Poster advertising John Sebastian, Buddy Miles and Rig, performing June 11 to 14, 1970 at Fillmore West, San Francisco. |
| Physical description | Poster advertising John Sebastian, Buddy Miles and Rig, performing June 11 to 14, 1970 at Fillmore West, San Francisco. Olive green border with black typography, and central surrealist black and white photo collage of a cars driving along a road which heads towards the Statue of Liberty's mouth. She is mostly submerged beneath water. |
| 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 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 creator of this poster, David Singer, was an untrained artist doing odd jobs for graphic design companies around San Francisco. He had been interested in collage from an early age, taking inspiration from the surrealism of Max Ernst and Magritte, combining this with the counter-culture of the 1960s. After showing several pieces to Bill Graham, he was hired to produce 12 posters, which Graham liked instantly, as the lettering was legible, a departure from the previous poster art of the Fillmore. Singer worked for Graham right up until the closure of the Fillmore in 1971, for which he created the final design; he was reaching his zenith, adapting Art Deco and Art Nouveau lettering, using collage and freehand drawing to create distinctive graphics, when the venue shut in the summer of 1971. This poster advertised a line-up headlined by John Sebastian, an ex-member of The Lovin' Spoonful, who had embarked on a solo career in 1968. Also on the bill was Buddy Miles, who had previously been the drummer in Jimi Hendrix's band, but was an excellent singer in his own right. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | BG 238 - Bill Graham's numbering system |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.719-2010 |
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| Record created | November 3, 2010 |
| Record URL |
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