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Object Timeline

1966

  • Work on this object began.

1979

  • We acquired this object.

2007

2008

2013

2015

2026

Poster, The Association

This is a poster. It was published by Bill Graham. It is dated 1966 and we acquired it in 1979. Its medium is offset lithograph on white wove paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Designer Wes Wilson, who died on January 24, 2020, at age 82, created some of the most memorable posters of the psychedelic era. These wavy-gravy, acid-colored, hand-lettered provocations for the eye accompanied rock shows at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium and Avalon Ballroom. Wilson’s posters for the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Association, and other bands were affordable works of art that could be purchased at the shows or in neighborhood smoke shops. They became essential memorabilia of the period’s vibrant counter culture. Wilson, along with Bonnie MacLean, Victor Moscoso, Peter Max, and other artists, revived the organicism of Jugendstil and art nouveau. They used swirling lines and repeating forms to keep the viewer’s eye in motion. Their hand-lettered text flouted traditional typographic values of legibility and uniformity.

Wilson established his unique style with this 1966 poster for The Association, which plays with the viewer’s powers of perception. Colors that have different hues (such as red and green) yet are close in value (having a similar level of lightness or darkness) are said to “vibrate.” A shimmering effect occurs where the edges of the flaming red letters meet the brilliant green background, making it difficult to separate the figure from the ground—or understand the text at all. Wilson rejected modernist ideals of flush-left type, open “white space,” and rational grids. He created posters that were designed not to be read but to be experienced.

Ellen Lupton is Senior Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the author of numerous publications, including Design Is Storytelling, The Senses: Design Beyond Vision, and How Posters Work.

This object was donated by Mrs. Alice Schreyer and Mr. Leslie Schreyer. It is credited Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie J. Schreyer.

  • Poster, Junior Wells
  • offset lithograph on white wove paper.
  • Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie J. Schreyer.
  • 1979-34-37
  •
  • Poster, Exodus
  • offset lithograph on wove paper.
  • Gift of Sara and Marc Benda.
  • 2010-21-16

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 51 × 33.8 cm (20 1/16 × 13 5/16 in.) Mat: 71.1 × 55.9 cm (28 × 22 in.)

It is signed

Signed: Wes Wilson '66

It is inscribed

Presented in San Francisco by Bill Graham; The Association, Along Comes Mary, Quicksilver, Messenger Service, Grassroots, Sopwith Camel, July 22-23, Fillmore Auditorium

Cite this object as

Poster, The Association; Published by Bill Graham (American, b. Germany, 1931–1991); offset lithograph on white wove paper; H x W: 51 × 33.8 cm (20 1/16 × 13 5/16 in.) Mat: 71.1 × 55.9 cm (28 × 22 in.); Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie J. Schreyer; 1979-34-25

In addition to Art of Noise, this object was previously on display as part of the exhibitions How Posters Work and Rococo: The Continuing Curve 1730-2008.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18497995/ |title=Poster, The Association |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=14 February 2026 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>