Psychedelic Art 60’s

Psychedelic Movement!

Psychedelic Art Movement began in the mid-1960s and had an effect not only on music but also on many aspects of popular culture.

This includes lifestyle, clothing, language, art, literature and philosophy.

The name “psychedelic” refers to drugs that were popular with the youth culture of the time. (The psychedelic is a concept whose name is derived from the ancient Greek words, translating to “reveal the mind”)

Visual styles of psychedelic art include curvaceous shapes inspired by Art Nouveau, illegible hand-drawn type and intense optical-color vibrations inspired by the pop art movement.

Festivals and music concerts were a prominent feature in the 1960s, and musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, The Who, Janis Joplin were the super stars at the time.

It is difficult to say whether psychedelic music has influenced the counterculture or vice versa. But a unique art form found expression in band posters and album covers.

The main artists of the psychedelic art movement of the 1960s were posters artists from San Francisco, including Wes Wilson, Mouse & Kelly (Stanley Mouse and Alton Kelly), Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, among others.

Meet some of the main artists of this movement!

Wes Wilson

Artist Wes Wilson, who is generally recognized as the father of the 1960s rock concert poster, was one of the best-known designers of psychedelic posters.

Victor Moscoso

Moscoso was a professional graphic designer, borrowed from comic books, produced psychedelic rock posters, advertisements and underground comix in San Francisco during the 1960s and 1970s.

Gary Grimshaw

Artist Gary Grimshaw was an active American graphic artist in Detroit and San Francisco who specialized in designing rock concert posters. He was also a radical political activist with the White Panther Party and related organizations.

Mouse & Kelly

Stanley George Miller, better known as Mouse and Stanley Mouse, is an American artist, notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs for the cover art of Grateful Dead and Journey albums, as well as many others.

Rick Griffin

Richard Alden “Rick” Griffin was an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s.

As a contributor to the underground comix movement, his work regularly appeared on Zap Comix. His work within the surf subculture included posters of surf movies.

Peter Max

One of the most famous of all living artists, Peter Max is also a pop culture icon.

These were just a few designers who left their mark on postmodern graphic design.

Equal but different, all with their particularities which makes each style of creation unique.

See too:

Andy Warhol! The Most Iconic Pop Art Artist

Learn more about the Pop Art Movement!

Artworks by Artist Lobo