Sunday, August 28, 2011

1960s



Psychedelic posters were in several places in at the beginning of its generation.  It was in San Francisco, the UK, and many other places.  This new style for posters originated from branching out from the International Style and creating a new movement.  Most of the artists of this time period were young, influenced by drugs (LSD in particular), and rebelling against tradition.  Among this movement, there were five people who became known as the "Big Five."  Wes Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Alton Kelly, Stanley Mouse, and Richard Griffin.

In the Magazine and Album Design area, Rolling Stone was a huge success.  It mainly focused on the music industry, trials and errors of celebrities, along with fascinating photography to capture the audience.   Oz was another magazine of the time period that was a success.  At least until the editors had obscenity charges brought up against them.  Oz was filled with lesser known information and social and political satire.

I particularly enjoyed how the Push Pin Studio, and other companies of the time period incorporated different styles underneath their overall style of being an "alternative art."  There was not a right or wrong way to answer one of their poster or magazine design issues.  It was just unique and handled different in each situation.  I think bringing in a variety of artists really helped achieve this effect. 

As stated in the video, this generation of designers still impact artists today.  They understood how to make their work vital to not just the art world, but to the music industry, advertising, politics, and more!  They utilized psychology to find out what makes people attracted to certain designs, colors, etc and how to get people to buy products, go to movies and such with their work.  It's truly interesting to see how much influence one generation can have and furthermore, how much influence a particular piece of work can help brand and sell a product.