The Paul Butterfield Blues Band Handbill
Conklin's plump puffs, a departure from his usual lettering, lulled the reader into finding Butterfield Blues Band and Santana in the clouds, then challenged him to discover Iron Butterfly, Initial Shock and Canned Heat in the landscape. Pointing fingers and that eyeball may come from the artist's "mission to translate my psychedelic experience onto paper."
The handbill measures 4 5/8" x 7" and displays a calendar of upcoming Bill Graham events on the reverse. It was printed before the concert.
There were also some pre-concert double-sized mailers printed that were conjoined with the BG132 image (see BG131/132). They measure 4 5/8" x 14".
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.