Community: bloggers@brooklynmuseum

With the exhibition Who Shot Rock & Roll:  A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present, opening tomorrow at the museum, I thought now would be a great time to acquaint our readers with the museum’s vintage collection of psychedelic posters.  I started documenting these posters a few years ago after I noticed a wooden box high up on a shelf in the museum’s Works on Paper storage area.  In this box I found close to three hundred stunning posters.

Norman Orr (American). [Untitled] (Poco - Siegal - Schwall), 1970. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 21 7/8 x 28 in. (55.6 x 71.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.266. ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com.

I thought it was interesting that these were part of our collection so I did some research.  I found that they had been brought into the museum by the museum’s then print curator, Jo Miller.  At the time they were purchased, in 1972, these posters were relatively unknown outside of San Francisco, although there had been an exhibition of Fillmore posters at the Museum of Modern Art around this same time. Since their purchase, almost forty years ago, these posters have never been shown at the Brooklyn Museum.  You can view a few here and a larger selection on the Museum’s contemporary collections pages.

Left: Bonnie MacLean (American). [Untitled] (The Who / Loading Zone), 1967. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 22 x 14 1/16 in. (55.9 x 35.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.70.  ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com. Right: D. Bread (American). [Untitled] (Janis Joplin…), 1969. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 21 x 14 1/8 in. (53.3 x 35.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.164. ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com.

Between 1966 and 1971 posters were being produced as publicity for dance concerts, or dance parties, at venues such as the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore West in San Francisco. These concerts featured loud, live bands, colorful light shows, often poetry readings or performance art, and were mostly fueled by LSD or acid.  These unique events were part of what became known as the psychedelic experience.

Left: Lee Conklin (American). [Untitled] (Buffalo Springfield / Richie Havens / Chambers Brothers), 1968. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 21 1/8 x 14 in. (53.7 x 35.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.121.  ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com. Right: Bonnie MacLean (American). [Untitled] (Blue Cheer / Vanilla Fudge / Sunshine Co.), 1967. Offset lithograph, Sheet: 21 1/4 x 14 3/16 in. (54 x 36 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 73.39.84. ©Bill Graham Archives, LLC, www.Wolfgangsvault.com.

Organized respectively by Chet Helms and Bill Graham, major promoters on the West Coast art and music scene in the 1960’s and early 1970’s, these concerts helped introduce performers that would go on to become legendary Rock Stars, such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Santana, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath, to name a few.  Amazingly, on these same concert bills were Rhythm and Blues greats such as Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding, and veteran Jazz and Blues musicians including Miles Davis and Albert King!  Please stop by next week for more on these posters and the artists that created them.

In an ongoing effort to be as transparent as possible, I want to take a minute to explain the Membership promotion we’re doing for today only with Groupon: a one-year Family and Friends membership (normally $85) for $35. Groupon (the word combines “group” and “coupon”) is a website that offers discounts on products and services in various cities by promising businesses a minimum number of customers. By harnessing collective buying power, Groupon is able to match up customers to businesses so both sides get something out of it.

Though many Museums discount membership (whether because of the economy, or to entice people to join through the mail or in-person), I have heretofore been completely against the idea of discounting the price of membership here at the Brooklyn Museum. The biggest reason discounting doesn’t appeal to me is because we work hard to make our membership levels affordable and are constantly reviewing the value of benefits at various levels. Additionally, I think when you offer membership for a lower price you essentially admit that you think the membership is worth less than what you were charging before. Lastly, I think it undermines the Museum’s current base of generous supporters when they pay the full amount and you let others-first time members, for example-pay less.

That being said, I came to see the partnership with Groupon as a good thing both for the Museum and for members because of its potential to reach new audiences. We’re always looking for ways to make Brooklyn Museum membership appeal to all sorts of folks, and Groupon’s commitment to providing good deals to people who like to get out and support their local communities is something that we agree with.  More to the point, we have a Rock ‘n Roll photography exhibition coming up for which the Members preview will be a really fun party, and we want to give as many people an opportunity to attend this opening event, which will include a performance by Blondie. This opening, at which hundreds of people will come to the Museum to enjoy art and each other’s company, seems like the right occasion to introduce new members to the Museum. It’s also important to keep in mind that we are not spending money on this promotion: we share the revenue with Groupon, but we don’t spend thousands of dollars on printing, mailing, etc. as we do with our direct mail acquisition campaigns.

Fundamentally, Groupon started “in order to make it easier for people to enjoy the great things in their community.” As someone who works at an institution whose mission is to become as accessible as possible for our all segments of our community, that philosophy makes sense to me. As with 1stfans, this one-day promotion is an experiment and we want to be up-front about that. But as with all projects at the Museum, if we can tie them effectively to our mission and communicate effectively with our constituents, everyone can be satisfied. I’ll do a follow-up post after the Member’s opening on October 29^th to let you know how things went.

Since early 2007, I’ve been working with the noted photo historian Gail Buckland to create Brooklyn Museum’s exhibition Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History. It’s hard to believe, now 2 years later, the show’s about to open on October 30th.

Pouring over hundreds of photographs,  the exhibition slowly took shape . . . the section themes emerged . . . and I started to work with different design concepts.  Should the design span the past 50 years of rock, from blue suede shoes to psychedelic to punk to grunge to today? Or should it feel like an austere Chelsea gallery . . . like a “serious” photography exhibition? Should it feel more round and analog . . . or more geometric and digital? Like drums and guitars, with wailing vocals? Like Led Zeppelin is in the room?

The final design, which you’ll see at the end of the month, is the result of thinking through many ideas of what an exhibition about music could look and feel like and how the visitor should move through the space. Next week we’ll begin hanging the works in the gallery, one-by-one . . . but in final preparation, there is one special component of the show that I’ve had a guilty pleasure assembling: the album cover chronology.

Over the Summer, I’ve rummaged through most every rock-and-roll memorabilia store in the city . . . scoured listings on ebay endlessly . . . encountered many vinyl aficionados . . . and had quite a few “a-ha” moments. And yes, we’re including all formats . . . 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs . . . . but mostly vinyl . . . hopefully you’ll have a cool walk down memory lane, just like I did.