Off the Wall

Showcases more than a hundred of the most imaginative and colorful posters to come out of San Francisco's psychedelic rock music scene.

In the mid-1960s, San Francisco rock, or psychedelic rock, emerged in Haight-Ashbury, fueled by the use of hallucinogenic drugs like LSD. Groups and musicians such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Santana, and others rose to prominence and in turn influenced musical groups around the United States and in other parts of the world, from the Velvet Underground to Sly and the Family Stone to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

The posters announcing the concerts that were held at places such as the fabled Fillmore and the Avalon Ballroom matched the revolutionary music with their brilliant, swirling colors and hallucinogenic imagery. Created by some of the most inventive graphic designers of the era, including the "Big Five" of psychedelic poster design—Wes Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, Alton Kelley, and Stanley "Mouse" Miller—these groundbreaking posters reflect a singular moment in the history of American culture.

This book features more than one hundred of the most striking and unconventional posters from this memorable period, stunningly printed in five colors to best reproduce the rich hues and dizzying patterns of the originals. The accompanying text covers the history of psychedelic rock music, explains the influences of Art Nouveau, Op Art, and other art movements on the poster design, and discusses the contributions of dozens of artists to the medium. 120 color illustrations.