Victor Moscoso (born July 28, 1936) is a Spanish–American artist best known for producing

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording te ...

posters, advertisements, and

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

during the 1960s and 1970s. He was the first of the rock poster artists of the 1960s era with formal academic training and experience. He was the first of the rock poster artists to use photographic collage in many of his posters.

Early life and education

Moscoso was born in the Vilaboa

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Culleredo, Galicia. He moved with his mother to Oleiros. His father, whose parents had already emigrated to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, exiled to the U.S. after being persecuted by the ''

falange The Falange Española Tradicionalista y de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalista (FET y de las JONS; ), frequently shortened to just "FET", was the sole legal party of the Francoist regime in Spain. It was created by General Francisco ...

''. At the age of four, Moscoso and his mother, joined his father, and travelled to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, where he stayed until he was an adult. His father worked as a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and taught him about color combination. His mother was a

seamstress A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Not ...

After studying art at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique ...

in New York City and at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

, Moscoso moved to

in 1959. There, he attended the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

, where he eventually became an instructor.

Career

Moscoso's use of vibrating colors was influenced by painter

Josef Albers Josef Albers (; ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born artist and educator. The first living artist to be given a solo show at MoMA and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he taught at the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College ...

, one of his teachers at Yale. Professional success came in the form of the psychedelic rock and roll poster art created for San Francisco and Denver’s dance halls and clubs. Moscoso's posters for the Family Dog dance-concerts at the

Avalon Ballroom The Avalon Ballroom was a music venue in the Polk Gulch neighborhood of San Francisco, California, at 1244 Sutter Street (or 1268 Sutter, depending on the entrance). The space is known as the location of many concerts of the counterculture move ...

and his Neon Rose posters for the Matrix resulted in international attention during the 1967

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury ...

. From September to December 1967 his psychedelic posters done for Chet Helms’ Family Dog Denver further extended his accomplishments and recognition. Moscoso's poster work includes album covers for musicians such as

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

, Jed Davis, and

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

. By 1968, Moscoso was doing work for

, for such titles as '' Yellow Dog'', ''Jiz Comics'', ''Snatch Comics'', ''El Perfecto Comics'', and '' Zap Comix''. As one of the ''Zap'' artists, his psychedelic work once again received international attention. His comics appeared in every issue of ''Zap'' from 1968 until the title's final issue in 2014; he also illustrated the covers for ''Zap'' #s 4, 10, and 13. Moscoso's comix work is notable for its repetitive framing and reliance on an eight-panel grid. The subjects of his comics in ''Zap'' are often classic characters like

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Evening Journal'', whose owne ...

, Mr. Peanut,

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring roles in the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merr ...

and

Winsor McCay Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip '' Little Nemo'' (1905–14; 1924–26) and the animated film '' Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...

Little Nemo Little Nemo is a fictional character created by American cartoonist Winsor McCay. He originated in an early comic strip by McCay, ''Dream of the Rarebit Fiend'', before receiving his own spin-off series, ''Little Nemo in Slumberland''. The f ...

. In 1977, Moscoso designed radio station

KMEL KMEL (106.1 FM) is an urban contemporary radio station that is licensed to San Francisco, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. KMEL has studios located in the SoMa district, and broadcas ...

's mascot: a camel wearing headphones. (The station used the KMEL call letters to name itself "Kamel 106".) Moscoso has also created art for use on

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are genera ...

s, billboards and animated commercials for radio stations, for which he received two Clio awards. In addition, he was given an

Inkpot Award The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...

in 1979. Moscoso was a 2018 AIGA Medalist. In 1979, the French publisher Futuropolis published ''Moscoso Comix'' #1, a 52-page collection (which was republished in English 1989). ''Sex, Rock 'N' Roll, & Optical Illusions'', a comprehensive collection of Moscoso's poster and comics work, was published by Fantagraphics in 2006, featuring introductions by Steven Heller and

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer. His most notable designs include the I Love New York logo, a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan, and the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University and Brooklyn Brewery. In 195 ...

Personal life

Moscoso returned to Galicia for the first time in 1965, at age 29. In 2016, he described the visit as "Travelling a 100 years back in time. I was able to visit my grandparents who were, at the time, very old." Even though he returned sporadically after that, he showed interest in visiting again, as the last time he did so was in 2001. As of 2021, Moscoso still lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Exhibitions

* 1987 (Summer): ''"Zap Comix #12,"'' Psychedelic Solution Gallery (New York City) — along with the '' Zap Comix'' collective * 2011 (May 12–June 25) ''"Zap: Masters of Psychedelic Art, 1965-74,"'' Andrew Edlin Gallery (New York City) — along with the ''Zap'' collective * 2016 (March 2–May 7): ''"The ZAP Show: A Cultural Revolution,"''

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

(New York City) — along with the ''Zap'' collective; curated by Monte Beauchamp

Publications

Album covers

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English rock band, formed in London and active between 1962 and 1969. The group were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The band had two diffe ...

, '' The Mighty Quinn'' (1968) *

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock, as ...

, '' Children of the Future'' (1968) * Colours, ''Atmosphere'' (1969) *

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

, ''With a Little Help from My Friends'' (1969) *

, '' Head Hunters'' (1973) *

, '' Compliments'' (1974) *

, ''

Bobby and the Midnites Bobby and the Midnites was a rock group led by Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead. The band was Weir's main side project during the first half of the 1980s. They released two albums, but were better known for their live concerts than for their work ...

'' (1981) * Jerry Garcia, '' Run for the Roses'' (1982) *

, '' Acousticity'' (1984) * D.J. Burns, ''Backseat Lovin''' (1991) * Willie McBlind, ''Find My Way Back Home'' (2009) * Jed Davis, ''The Cutting Room Floor'' (2010)

Comics

Solo titles

* ''Color (Cosmic Comics)'' (Print Mint, 1971) * ''Moscoso Comix'' #1 (Futuropolis, 1979) — 52 pages, including "KSAN Comics," a 9-page story from 1971 that was originally displayed inside San Francisco MUNI buses in a partnership with

KSAN (FM) KSAN (107.7 MHz, "107.7 The Bone") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to San Mateo, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by Cumulus Media and it airs a mainstream rock radio format. It als ...

. "KSAN Comics" was designed as a loop that can be read at any point in the story. The twenty-three panels are all numbered on the lower left side. ''Moscoso Comix'' was later republished by Electric City Comix in 1989.

Contributor

* '' Yellow Dog'' #2 ( The Print Mint,

une Une is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Eastern Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre is located at an altitude of at a distance of from the capital Bogotá. The municipality borders Chipaque in the nort ...

1968) — 2 stories for 2 total pages * '' Zap Comix'' #2 ( Apex Novelties, uly1968) — 6 stories for 8 total pages * ''Yellow Dog'' #7 (The Print Mint, Dec. 1968) — 1-page story * ''Jiz Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1969) — 1-page story * ''Radical America Komiks'' vol. 3, #1 (

Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...

, 1969) — 2 stories for 2 total pages * ''Snatch Comics'' #2 (Apex Novelties, Jan. 1969) — 1-page story * ''Zap Comix'' #3 (The Print Mint, 1969) — 2 stories for 8 total pages * ''Snatch Comics'' #3 (Apex Novelties, Aug. 1969) — 1 2-page story * ''Zap Comix'' #4 (The Print Mint, 1969) — 2 stories * ''Zap Comix'' #5 (The Print Mint, 1970) — 1 6-page story ("Krazy Komix") * '' West Magazine'' (1971) — 1-page story (" Spiro's Trip to Mars"); also published as a postcard * ''The Rip Off Review of Western Culture'' #1 (Rip Off Press, June/July 1972) * ''West Magazine'' (c. 1972) — 1-page collaboration with Robt. Williams ("Howdy Aliens!") * ''El Perfecto Comics'' (The Print Mint, 1973) — 2 stories for a total of 4 pages * ''Zap Comix'' #6 (The Print Mint, 1973) — 1 6-page story ("Loop De Loop De") * ''Tales from the Berkeley-Con'' vol. 2, #2 (Rip Off Press/Last Gasp, 1974) — 1-page story * ''Zam-Zap Jam'' (The Print Mint, 1974) — 2 jams with

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

("Abracadabra" and "A Bug Story") for a total of 9 pages * ''Zap Comix'' #7 (The Print Mint, 1974) — 1 6-page story (" hanges) and a back cover * ''

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

'' #1 (The Print Mint, Spring 1975) — 1-page story ("Mystic Comics Part 1") * ''Zap Comix'' #8 (The Print Mint, 1975) — 2 stories ("

Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of '' Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a ...

" and "Dinosaur Fight") for a total of 4 pages * ''Zap Comix'' #9 (The Print Mint, 1978) — 2 stories for a total of 5 pages * ''Zap Comix'' #10 (Last Gasp, 1982) — 1 9-page story ("The Oasis") and the front cover * ''Zap Comix'' #11 (Last Gap, Feb. 1985) — contribution to one 1-page group jam * ''Zap Comix'' #12 (

Last Gasp Last Gasp or The Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) * ''Last Gasp'' (''Inside No. 9''), a TV episode * '' The Last Gasp'', a 2007 album by Impaled * ''The Last Gasp'' (novel) * "Last Gasp" (song) {{dab ...

, 1989) — 1 7-page story ("The Artist and the Elves") * ''Zap Comix'' #13 (Last Gasp, 1994) — 8 stories for a total of 12 pages * ''Zap Comix'' #14 (Last Gasp, 1998) — 8 stories for a total of 16 pages, including 3 "Blobman Comics" (Nos. 10, 11, and 12) and a 2-page collaboration with Spain Rodriguez ("Incident at Zwigoff's") * ''Zap Comix'' #15 (Last Gasp, 2005) — 3 stories for a total of 7 pages, including a Blobman comic

References

External links

*
Steven Heller on ''Zap Comix''Eric King's guide to rock and roll poster art from 1965-1973Colección MoMA de Victor Moscoso

Interviews

Comic Journal interview
2002
Marin Independent Journal interview, Sept. 2006video interviews from dead.net with Family Dog poster artists, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moscoso, Victor American comics artists American illustrators Album-cover and concert-poster artists People from Galicia (Spain) Living people American poster artists Spanish comics artists Spanish illustrators Spanish poster artists Psychedelic artists Underground cartoonists 1936 births Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area Yale School of Art alumni AIGA medalists