Denver Art Museum going psychedelic with poster exhibit

New collection goes on display next spring

By Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Originally published 01:54 p.m., June 26, 2008
Updated 01:54 p.m., June 26, 2008

Photo by Matt McClain

Darrin Alfred, Denver Art Museum's AIGA Assistant Curator of Graphic Design, poses near rock concert posters from the 1960's and early 1970's shortly after they were acquired in 2007. The museum plans an exhibit of some of the 900-plus vintage posters next March. (MATT MCCLAIN/ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS)

Prepare your eyes for a show coming next spring, when the Denver Art Museum will open an exhibition drawn from its new trove of 1960s rock posters.

“The Psychedelic Experience: Rock Posters From the San Francisco Bay Area, 1965-1971” will debut March 21, 2009, with more than 250 works advertising concerts and other events emblematic of the music and spirit of the 1960s.

“Experience,” which will continue through July 19, 2009, is drawn from almost 900 posters amassed by Boulder-based collector David Tippit. The museum acquired the posters in January, one of the first moves by Darrin Alfred, the museum’s new AIGA assistant curator of graphic design.

Among objects to go on view will be early examples of psychedelic posters, as well as those promoting concerts organized by Bill Graham from the Fillmore Auditorium and Chet Helms of the Family Dog in Denver. Artists represented in the show will include Wes Wilson, Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin and Bonnie MacLean.