Rick Griffin (1944-1991) was an American artist and psychedelic poster designer. He grew up obsessed with surf culture and started his art career in high school. He was hired by a magazine to illustrate a comic strip of a cartoon surfer dude named “Murphy”, a character he created himself.
I think Griffin was successful in giving “Murphy” a distinct look and illustrated him with great character. It’s impressive how Griffin already had an art gig in high school, he was definitely ambitious.
Fast forward to the 60s, Griffin began designing posters, and his work would soon define the psychedelic art era.
This is a design Griffin did for the rock band Grateful Dead, initially as a poster for show promo, but the band loved it so much they made it their album cover. The themes of life and death Griffin is playing with in this piece creates a powerful contrast. I especially love how he made the sun rays squiggly and connected a squiggle with the skull right below it.
Griffin designed this poster for the rock band The Doors for a concert they did in Denver. I think this design would look really cool on a shirt and I love the colours he used. The alien creature offering the white pill is only what I can assume to be a drug reference. Psychedelia at its peak!
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