I cannot believe I missed VICTOR MOSCOSO: PSYCHEDELIC DRAWINGS, 1967–1982, curated by Norman Hathaway and Dan Nadel, when it opened on March 6 at the Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York. I joke about how there’s nothing to see in New York and I’ve learned my lesson—read my mail, look in the gallery listings, go on Facebook—and never defame the galleries here again.
Victor Moscoso, one of the pre-eminent poster artists of the 20th century, is known for his 1960s psychedelic posters and comics.
This exhibition is the first to present the full range of Moscoso’s drawings for posters and comics, including original renderings for his renowned cover of Zap Comix #4 (1969), the Hocus Pocus story, posters for The Doors and The Who, and other seminal published editions. These works, executed as production art for printed pieces, reveal Moscoso’s dedication to expert draftsmanship in the service of graphics, as well as a sure and graceful approach to drawing everything from dinosaurs to spaceships to humans.
Moscoso’s influence on visual culture of the psychedelic era was born out of his studies with Josef Albers at Yale in the late 1950s. In 1966 in San Francisco, he began designing posters for rock shows in the city, and by 1967 had developed the Moscoso style, a “vibration” effect, and lettering designed for its form instead of function. In 1968, Moscoso he was invited by R. Crumb to collaborate on Zap Comix. His comics debuted in issue 2 and all the issues through 2014 are found in the “Complete Zap Comix” box set.
The exhibition, with its wealth of original drawings and mechanicals, may be over but you can see a walkthrough here and a catalog here.
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