Otis Rush Chicago Blues Band Postcard
The yin-yang of Wes Wilson's universe features prominently in BG053. The male and female figures appear Native American, worshipers who, like Wilson, used plant-derived drugs to access the spirit world, and are two aspects of one soul; day and night, sun and moon.
The postcard was printed once before the concert, but the "split fountain technique" led to several variants within this run.
1st printing A is characterized by blue and peach in the top portion of the card. It measures 4 3/4" x 8".
1st printing B is characterized by tan and green in the top portion of the card. It measures 4 3/4" x 8".
1st printing C is characterized by red and green in the top portion of the card. It measures 4 5/8" x 8".
1st printing D is characterized by blue and green in the top portion of the card. It measures 4 5/8" x 8".
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.