Quicksilver Messenger Service Poster
MacLean's artwork captures the monikers of the performers: a modern-day Messenger streaks over the Grass Roots growing along the banks of a fast-flowing Mad River.
The 1st printing poster was printed on flat uncoated plain stock before the concert in a run of 5,000. The colors look significantly different than they do on the reprint; the purple is more red, the grass is lighter green, and the river and wings of the creature are lighter blue. It measures 14" x 21 1/16".
The 2nd printing is on glossy stock that displays darker, richer colors as compared to the original printing. It was printed in a run of 1,000 on 12/14/1968, and it measures 14" x 21 1/8".
During the early days of the Fillmore, MacLean was the most "present" member of the staff. She collected tickets, passed out handbills, blew up balloons and counted money for Fillmore productions. Impressed with her lettering skill on the upcoming attractions chalkboards, Bill Graham surprised her with an easel and art supplies for Christmas, 1967, and MacLean's poster artist career was launched. Untrained in graphic arts, MacLean's early style evolved into ornate, Medieval-Gothic designs. Faces in her posters wore trance-like stares, steady and serene, and evoke the detached spirituality of the sixties.