Psychedelic 60s : Blog 10

Psychedelia

Psychedelia is an artistic movement that emerged in America in the 1960’s. It was mostly associated with Rock music and the hippy lifestyle of that time. This movement had an effect on almost everything; fashion, language, art and even literature. The name came from a drug which was popular with the young people at that time. Images were made to recreate sensations like tripping out. They were also distorted and lettering was illegible. These were applied to posters, album covers and any graphic design work.

This movement is a result of post-war economic and baby boom. In the 60’s, the babies from after war are young adults, and this is a result of their reaction. They questioned everything, like the materialism and political norms. They wanted to create a democratic society free from discrimination. They spoke about various issues, like civil rights, sexual freedom and more. Music was prominent at the time, therefore, art and music were combined and a unique art form was born to create band posters.

These posters included general vulgar and bizarre commercial graphic design. Designers were inspired from previous movements like Art Nouveau, Op art and Pop art. Some characteristics are; flowing curves like those from Art Nouveau and intense optical illusion colour vibration. Also, the lettering is generally illegible, elongated and warped. Colours used are close complimentary colours and the artist usually made use of images found in popular culture.

Two graphic designers that were very influential are Wes Wilson and Victor Moscoso. Wes Wilson was one of the best designers of Psychedelic posters. He was an innovator and very influential. His most well-known works are posters for Bill Graham of the Fillmore. His style is a reminder of this particular movement. He is also famous for inventing a very popular font in the 60’s. Design was much more important to him than legibility. He thought that whoever will be interested will figure it out.

 Victor Moscoso was one of the few artists at that time that was properly trained as an artist and not self-taught like most of the other designers. He was influenced from several styles like comic books, pop art, Art Nouveau and also Victorian images. He used a technique that was about reducing photographs to their basic fundamentals. He also used curved lines and linear shapes with vibrating colours. His technique to create the psychedelic effect is created by choosing contradictory colours on purpose. The images he chose do not always reflect the concept of the poster or work; he simply used them for the effect and for design’s sake.

This movement, although very influential at the time when it was popular, is not very pleasant to see. In my opinion there are very few aspects to appreciate, as every technique used is used wrongly, and the results are very bright and illegible posters that almost hurt to look at. The fact that the designers were not interested in the legibility and message evoked is a bit worrying. It is true that the design needs to take utmost importance but with that design, a message will be conveyed.

The culture at that time works perfectly with this type of art, and this style is also one of the most significant in history. Moreover, the issues fought in the 60’s are still very crucial for today’s world. Therefore, we can conclude that values survived, and after all, Psychedelia’s effect is still rooted in our past and visible in our values.

Bibliography

Anon., n.d. Graphic Design History. [Online]
Available at: http://visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com/psychedelic-60s/
[Accessed 03 12 2014].

Anon., n.d. Irondance. [Online]
Available at: http://irondance.blogspot.com/2011/10/wes-wilson-fillmore-and-more.html
[Accessed 03 12 2014].