Wes Wilson was trained as a draftsman and took inspiration for his artwork from many sources. BG056 shows heavy African influence in the nonplussed expression of the mask fronting drumbeat waves of Moby Grape, The Chambers Brothers and The Charlatans.
The poster was printed once using the "split fountain technique" prior to the concert. It measures 13 3/4" x 21".
The 2nd printing is on coated stock and has "W 2023" in the lower right hand margin. It was printed in 2023 by Wolfgang's in a 250 copy run. This reprint measures 14" x 21".
When the Avalon Ballroom and Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium began to hold weekly dance concerts, Wilson was called upon to design the posters. He created psychedelic posters from February 1966 to May 1967, when disputes over money severed his connection with Graham. Wilson pioneered the psychedelic rock poster. Intended for a particular audience, "one that was tuned in to the psychedelic experience," his art, and especially the exaggerated freehand lettering, emerged from Wilson's own involvement with that experience and the psychedelic art of light shows.