Psychedelic Rock Posters

After reading Sally Tomlinson's essay about the Psychedelic rock posters, I began questioning why the posters were such a giant focal point for the era. Yes, at the time they served an important purpose. That purpose was to advertise and inform hippies about events such as the concert dances. Almost all of the posters shared some similar characteristics, which we talked about in class when discussing the advertisement for the festival in New York this summer. Intricate lettering and bright, vibrant colors were some of the elements that made these posters different from those that had come before and after. Tomlinson touched on a point that I had never thought of when she wrote that, "deciphering the posters required concentration, which dovetailed handily with 'the state of mind which occurs when high'" (302-3). So much of the hippie culture we are learning about had to do with knowing the 'in' things. They dressed a certain way, dressed a certain way, had certain phrases and language they used to identify them as part of the counterculture. I guess I had never considered that the ability to read and interpret these posters were also a way of identifying one's presence in the counterculture.
I had also questioned why posters would be something that warranted such high regard so many years later. Yes they may have been great representations of culturally relevant art, but so many things are that get neglected. After talking about this essay with some friends I had one person ask me if I ever heard news stories that referenced controversy coming from a Blog. My answer was yes. They then asked me if the news stories surrounding email misuse (like the Philadelphia news anchors) had gained a lot of local attention. Of course, the answer to that is yes. This followed by references to the cultural impacts of Myspace pages, Facebook profiles and other electronic forums/media content that influence our current culture.
All in all, my friend was pointing out to me that the posters of the 1960s would have been equivalent to an event invitation to certain people on Facebook or a band's profile on Myspace. The concept of attracting the type of people you want to attend certain events has not changed, the method however has evolved.