February 2022 – Matthew Funk

By: Matthew Funk

Born in Sacramento, California in, 1937, Wes Wilson was a leader in popularizing and creating the psychedelic poster design and art that was so prevalent in the 60s. Wilson primarily worked out of San Francisco and was considered one of the most important designers to come out of San Franciso. Primarily working with musicians, Wilson designed for big names like Bill Graham as well as working for venues like The Filmore. Wilson is heavily associated with the peace movement and this is partly because of how well he was able to capture and memorialize it in a visual aspect. He was heavily inspired by the art nouveau movement and those influences were clearly seen in his art. His ability to creatively use type as illustrated elements is just as recognizable as his visuals themselves, which is another reason he is so well known and respected. Sadly Wilson passed away in 2020, but fortunately, his art and influence are still seen today. His bold colours and melting lines are very recognizable to any art or music lover.

A Wes Wilson poster promoting the 13th Floor Elevators, Great Society, Sopwith Camel at the Fillmore Auditorium on August 26 and 27, 1966.

Wes Wilson, Otis Rush & His Chicago Blues Band; Grateful Dead, Fillmore Auditorium, February 24-27, 1967.

The Association at the Fillmore Auditorium, by Wes Wilson, 1966. Courtesy of Wes Wilson.

The Byrds Vintage Concert Postcard from Winterland, April 1, 1967.

Work Cited.

About wes. Wilson.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.wes-wilson.com/about-wes.html

Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, January 11). Wes Wilson. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Wilson

By: Matthew Funk

Born in New York in 1925, Helmut was a leader in the revolution of modern advertising. Named the number 1 campaign by the Advertising issue, Helmut was widely recognized as a master of his craft. Helmut spent most of his career working for the Doyle Dale Bernbach agency. While he worked there, he made incredibly unique and new advertisements that were unlike anything seen before. In a quote from Krone, he says, ” I’ve spent my whole life-fighting logos. Logos say I am an ad. Turn the page. I don’t just leave out the logo. I give something better. I try to make the page so clean and effective, you can’t stick a logo on it.” This quote summarizes the concepts and ideas that went into Krone’s revolutionary work. Krone did not want to make just an advertisement, and it would almost appear that he didn’t. It seemed that Krone rather wanted to make an idea, an idea that would stick with the viewer. Hardly ever using logos, Krone let the products do the talking, he made intelligent work and thus most of the genius of his technique what he left out rather than what he put out. The balance of adding and subtracting is something that no doubt, solidified Krone as one of the all-time greats.

Polaroid Ad with Louis Armstrong (taken on a polaroid camera)

Work Cited.

Helmut Krone. ADC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from http://adcglobal.org/hall-of-fame/helmut-krone/.

Wikimedia Foundation. (n.d.). Helmut Krone. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Krone.