Steppenwolf Poster
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The famous Santana Lion sprang from Lee Conklin's fortuitous combination of a doobie break and a child's animal picture book. From that vision came the African priestess and the king of beasts image, combined in Conklin's signature, complicated style. Santana was so taken with the poster that they asked the artist to redraw the picture for their first album cover, and the lion and Santana became permanently linked in aficionados' minds. Although Bill Graham preferred color posters to advertise his concerts, BG134 was so powerful in its original pen and ink it, was sent to press that way.
Lee Conklin's early influences were pen and ink masters Heinrich Kley and Saul Steinberg.After seeing articles featuring Wes Wilson's poster art, Conklin was inspired to visit San Francisco and show his art to Bill Graham. Conklin was soon commissioned to do posters and produced 31 original designs for the Fillmore between 1968 and 1969. Conklin rendered both graphics and calligraphy in intricate detail. What began as a personal challenge to disguise images within images and lettering soon turned into a concerted effort to turn every single letter and figure into another form, stretching the imagination to new limits.