Country Joe & the Fish Poster
BG149 is a Lee Conklin work whose imagery was so fluid one could worry that it might run right off the page. No other poster artist of the period had Conklin's ability to channel the intensity and weirdness of the psychedelic experience onto paper. For this reason, Conklin's work was not for the faint-hearted, nor was it productive to try to understand the strange landscape of his fantasy world. Better to enjoy the artist's talent for giving the viewer a glimpse of the acid experience.
The poster was only printed once before the concert. It measures 14 1/8" x 21".
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.