Richard Alden "Rick" Griffin (June 18, 1944 – August 18, 1991) was an American

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s. He was a key figure in the

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, ...

movement as a fouding member of the ''

Zap Comix ''Zap Comix'' is an underground comix series which was originally part of the Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the late 1960s. While a few small-circulation self-published satirical comic books had been printed prior to this, ''Zap' ...

'' collective. Griffin was closely identified with the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

, designing some of their best-known posters and album covers including '' Aoxomoxoa''. His work within the surfing subculture included both film posters and his comic strip, ''Murphy''.

Early life

Griffin was born near Palos Verdes amidst the surfing culture of southern California. Griffin biographer Tim Stephenson notes: :"His father was an engineer and amateur archaeologist and as a boy Rick accompanied him on digs in the Southwest. It was during this time that Rick was exposed to the Native American and ghost town artifacts that were to influence his later work. Rick was taught to surf by Randy Nauert at the age of 14 at Torrance Beach. The pair had met at Alexander Jr. High, and were to become lifelong friends, Rick producing much of the artwork for Randy's future band, the Challengers." While attending Nathaniel Narbonne High School in the Harbor City area of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, he produced numerous surfer drawings, which led to his surfing comic strip, "Murphy" for '' Surfer'' magazine in 1961, with Griffin's character featured on the front cover the following year. In 1964, he left ''Surfer'' and briefly attended Chouinard Art Institute (now CalArts), where he met his future wife, artist Ida Pfefferle as well as the Jook Savages, a group of artist-musicians with whom he took part in

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (; September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and Counterculture of the 1960s, countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies o ...

's Watts

Acid Tests The Acid Tests were a series of parties held by author Ken Kesey primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area during the mid-1960s, centered on the use of and advocacy for the psychedelic drug LSD, commonly known as "acid". LSD was not made illega ...

on February 12, 1966. Griffin was intrigued by the psychedelic rock posters being designed by

Stanley Mouse Stanley George Miller (born October 10, 1940), better known as Mouse or Stanley Mouse, is an American artist who is notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and album covers for the Grateful Dead, Journey, and other bands. ...

and

Alton Kelley Alton Kelley (June 17, 1940 – June 1, 2008) was an American artist known for his psychedelic art, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concert posters and album covers. Along with artists Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso ...

so after taking time out for a Mexican surfing trip, Rick and Ida headed to San Francisco to check out the scene.

Career

Posters

Griffin and the Jook Savages arranged an art show, celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Psychedelic Shop on Haight Street for which Griffin designed his first psychedelic poster. Organizers for the

Human Be-In The Human Be-In was an event held in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park Polo Fields on January 14, 1967. It was a prelude to San Francisco's Summer of Love, which made the Haight-Ashbury district a symbol of American counterculture an ...

saw his work and asked him to design a poster for their January 1967 event. Chet Helms was also impressed by Griffin's work and asked him to design posters for the Family Dog dance concerts at the Avalon Ballroom, and later for The Family Dog Denver ballroom in Denver, CO.. In 1967, Griffin, Kelley, Mouse, Victor Moscoso and Wes Wilson teamed with photographer Bob Seidemann as the founders of Berkeley Bonaparte, a company that created and marketed psychedelic posters. In February 1968 Griffin began to design posters for Bill Graham shows, first at The Fillmore Auditorium and later at the Fillmore West. The first of these posters was to become one of his best known works, the "Flying Eyeball" poster for

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

Comics

Griffin was a key figure and founding member of the ''

'' collective. ''Man from Utopia'' (1972), ''Tales from the Tube'' (1972), and his Zap pages are considered to be his most notable comic works.Fox, M. Steven
"Man from Utopia"
ComixJoint. Accessed May 7, 2024.

Comic BibliographyFox, M. Steven

ComixJoint. Accessed May 7, 2024.

* ''Zap Comix'' #2-9, 11, 12, 14 (The Print Mint, 1968–1998) * '' Yellow Dog'' #2 ( The Print Mint, 1968 June) * ''Yellow Dog'' #8 (The Print Mint, 1969 February) * ''Bogeyman'' #2 ( San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1969) * ''Bogeyman'' #3 (Company & Sons, 1970 * ''Changes'' #3 (Harbinger University Press, 1969) * ''Jiz Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1969) * ''King Bee'' (Apex Novelties, 1969) * ''Promethean Enterprises'' #1-5 ( Bud Plant, 1969–1974) * ''Radical America Komiks'' (Paul Buhle, 1969) * ''Snatch Comics'' #2 (Apex Novelties, 1969) * ''All Stars'' #2 (San Francisco Comic Book Co., 1970) * ''The Dying Dolphin'' (The Print Mint, 1970) * '' San Francisco Comic Book'' #1 (San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1970) * ''San Francisco Comic Book'' #2 (The Print Mint, 1970) * ''Man from Utopia'' (San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1972) * ''Tales from the Tube'' (Surfer Publications, 1972) * ''Berkeley Con Program Book'' (Rip Off Press, 1973) * ''Eternal Comics'' (Last Gasp, 1973) * ''Occult Laff-Parade'' (The Print Mint, 1973) * ''Tales from the Berkeley-Con'' (Rip Off Press / Last Gasp, 1974) * ''Zam (Zap Jam)'' (The Print Mint, 1974) * ''Foopgoop Frolics Frantic Funnies Folio'' (Glenn Bray, 1975) * ''Stoned Picture Parade'' #1 (San Francisco Comic Book Company, 1975) * ''Heebie Jeebie Funnies'' #1 (Joel Milke, 1976) * ''The Portfolio of Underground Art'' (Schanes & Schanes, 1980)

''The Gospel of John''

Griffin became a born again Christian in November 1970, which led to fundamental changes in his lifestyle and in the style and content of his art. His 1973 painting ''Sail on Sailor'' for the band Mustard Seed Faith is an example of his fine art painting from this period. His most significant 1970s project was the creation of hundreds of paintings and drawings for ''The Gospel of John'', published by the Christian record label

Maranatha! Music Maranatha! Music is a Christian music record label which was founded as a nonprofit ministry of Calvary Chapel in 1971. The label is distributed by Capitol Christian Music Group, a division of Universal Music Group, Universal Music. Background ...

. He also produced much album art for Maranatha! during the 1970s and 1980s.

Death and legacy

Rick Griffin died shortly after a motorcycle accident on August 15, 1991, in

Petaluma, California Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. He was thrown from his Harley-Davidson motorcycle when he collided with a van that suddenly turned left as he attempted to pass it. He was not wearing a helmet and sustained major head injuries. He died three days later, on August 18, in nearby Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, at the age of 47.Chronology by Gordon McClelland in ''Heart and Torch'', Laguna Art Museum, 2007. His work has been cited as an inspiration by well-known artist Roger Dean, known for his designs for bands such as

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, and by Mark Wilkinson, known for his designs for bands such as

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

and

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

Books

*McClelland, Gordon. ''The Art of Rick Griffin''. Perigee Paper Tiger, 1980. Reprinted by Last Gasp, 2001. *Harvey, Doug, edited by Susan Anderson. ''Heart and Torch: Rick Griffin's Transcendence''. Laguna Art Museum, Gingko Press, 2007.

References

External links

Rick Griffin's official website

Smithsonian American Art Museum: Rick Griffin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Rick 1944 births 1991 deaths American album-cover and concert-poster artists Albums with cover art by Rick Griffin American comics artists American comic strip cartoonists Psychedelic artists Road incident deaths in California Underground cartoonists Motorcycle road incident deaths History of San Francisco People from Palos Verdes, California Inkpot Award winners Christian comics creators Narbonne High School alumni