RICK GRIFFIN - "HEART AND TORCH - GRIFFIN'S TRANSCENDENCE" - SCARCE HARD COVER

Description

HEART AND TORCH
THE TRANSCENDENCE OF RICK GRIFFIN
by Doug Harvey
SCARCE HARD COVER EDITION
MINT CONDITION -- LAST ONE I HAVE
This volume, which served as the catalog for a retrospective of Rick Griffin's work at the Laguna Art Museum in California in 2007, includes a thorough overview of Griffin's work--from his early "Murphy" cartoons for Surfer Magazine to his posters related to the Haight Ashbury scene in San Francisco, including his "Human-Be-In" poster and the wonderfully imaginative psychedelic posters he did for Bill Graham's Fillmore Auditorium rock shows, featuring such bands as the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Book measures 10" x 13.25" and is coffee table size, in full color, needless to say. The retrospective included his later psychedelic Surfer cartoons, his elaborate and inscrutable pen & ink mandalas, and the lush canvasses in oil of scenes from Christ's life that he did after
his conversion to cosmic Christianity in Northern California--and his work on
up until his tragic and untimely death in a motorcycle accident in August of 1991.
Includes a number of essays that explain the uniqueness of Griffin's contribution to the art world--by people such as Greg Escalante (editor of Juxtapoz Magazine), fellow Southern California artist "Chaz" Bojorquez, Chuck Fromm (The President of Maranatha Music who commissioned Griffin's incredible illustrations for the "Gospel of John" comic book project) and recollections of working with Rick from Jacaeber Kastor (owner of the Psychedelic Solution in NYC) and Gordon McCLelland (author of the first book on Griffin, which came out in 1980), who contributed a thorough timeline of Rick's career and personal history.
This would make a great gift for someone who loves 60s poster art and Rick Griffin's work in particular. It is an indispensable resource for any serious Griffin aficionado.
I went to see the Laguna Art Museum show several times in the summer of 2007--and it did not disappoint. Neither does this book.
rock art, Family Dog, Aoxomoxoa, psychedelic art, Big Five Artists of San Francisco, Wes Wilson, Alton Kelley, Victor Moscoso, Grateful Dead, Christian art, Stanley Mouse, Maranatha, Haight Ashbury, hippies, mandala, rock posters, 60s posters, graphic art, poster collecting