BG004

Although the "Batman" poster hinted at Wes Wilson's potential for his eventual style, this poster demonstrates clearly, and with total confidence, his swirling letterforms which became his signature, and is the first, seminal example of what was to come. This is a landmark piece of work artistically, and in my mind consequently the most valuable poster (with the exception of the first one) of the first seven. It is also in perfect condition having been never displayed. Very rare and extremely valuable.

14" X 20" (36cm X 51cm)

What Wes, and all us artists by this time, were doing with our art was trying to mimic the hallucinatory visions we were having as a result of taking LSD, which pretty much everyone was experimenting with at the time.

Although Funky Jack had participated in some scientifically controlled LSD experiments at the University of California Berkeley in the early 60's, the general public had no inkling of the drug until Ken Kesey brought some back from Switzerland in 1965, where it was made. At this time, the drug was legal, and was being used in psychological experiments by scientists and doctors all over the world.

Ken had befriended Sonny Barger and Freewheelin' Frank of the Hell's Angels, and turned them on to the drug. They turned on their friends, and so on and so on, creating an exponential explosion of hundreds of thousands of people who had taken the drug in just a short six months. Everyone who took the drug (well.most everyone!) wanted to turn their friends onto this amazing experience, and so it went.

I came home one day in 1968 to find Sonny Barger and Freewheelin' Frank sitting in my lounge listening to music (it was well-known that I never locked my door and anyone was welcome)... this kind of stuff happened all the time...it was an amazing period of history that is impossible to imagine today. I know it sounds corny, but we really were all one big family, or tribe. All friends, all trusting of each other, and no one ever took advantage. Well, you don't with family, do you? It really seemed like a new world order based on honor and trust was possible...we were all living it, and it worked.

Funky Features regularly got requests from little cottage businesses just starting up on a shoestring all over the country, to send them posters on consignment. We always did, and we ALWAYS got paid. We trusted them, and they came through. It was like that with everyone in every business. Very civilized.