German-American artist Peter Max was born on October 19, 1937, in Berlin. Throughout his childhood, his family travelled and lived all over the world, from China to Israel, to Paris, eventually settling in New York City. There, Max began studying and training at the Art Students League of New York in 1956. He was mentored by Frank Reilly, a man who attended the League himself, but who also happened to study alongside Norman Rockwell. After completing his studies, Max opened a small art studio with the help of his school friend Tom Daly. The Daly & Max Studio won many numerous awards, particularly for their illustrations and designs displayed on book covers.
It is evident that Peter Max had a distinct psychedelic style in his work, featuring the use of bright colours and interesting shapes. What many people don’t realize is that Max had multiple synesthesia experiences throughout his lifetime. His personal artistic style helped him describe the way that he “heard” colour and “saw” things like music in particular. This phenomenon must have been the reason why his work was so popular among the hippies of the ’60s, especially considering how inspirational and widely-known his “Be In” poster came to be.
References: https://petermax.com/pages/peter-max-biography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Max http://blog.lofty.com/top-10/top-10-things-you-should-know-about-peter-max/