1960's Content

The Sixties was a time of revolution, radicalism,  and change, this period of time was often called the swinging sixties due to the relaxation of many social taboos of the time, such as sexism and racism.  During this period there were many subcultures which emerged, one of them was that of the Hippie subculture, who were originally a youth movement who formed in the US.  They later spread around the world seeking to spread their ideas and interests and embrace the sexual revolution. The hippie culture tended to travel very lightly and didn't plan ahead, meaning they could pack up and go as they pleased to festivals or protests against the vietnamese war of the time. As more and more people were traveling to places such as India, Nepal and Turkey on the Hippie trail, many started to reject mainstream organise zed religion and looked for something a little more spiritual.  This lead to a huge resolution in both design and culture, due to the influence from the east.


Drugs such as Canibis were taken regally as they were considered pleasurable and experimental, LSD and mescaline were also taken by many in order to help self exploration and induce religious and spiritual experiences. LSD was synthesised by Albert Hofmann much earlier in the century but it was later found that it had psychedelic properties.


Many musicians music was inspired by LSD and many wrote songs whilst 'tripping out', it was the same for Design many artists turned to psychedelic art, as it was interesting. Poster design became very popular in the 1960' as it was a combination on Psychedelic design and popular music of the time, meaning it was easy to relate to. Designers such as Milton Glaser became famous for his Bob Dylan posters which sold over 6 million around the world, his designs were simple yet always colourful and intriguing, many argued that his work was influenced by LSD. Underground Comic book illustrations also became very popular an illustrators such as R. Crumb became popular for His work as it was Bazaar and  always popular amongst the Youth of The time, his work was often used on Music festival Posters. Other Artists such as Roy Litchenstien  and Andy Warhol were often commissioned to do posters for Music events or other commercial Art needs. As Album covers were the most influential way to attract attention they were nearly always extravagant, Musicians worked with popular designers and artists of the time to produce impressive and eye catching designs. Political and social change in the 60' resulted in a breakdown in ideas and influences.This was shown in the World of Pop Art and therefore through music and Album Covers.