1968 San Francisco
DESCRIPTION
This is a vibrant and imaginative poster of San Francisco at the height of its countercultural revolution, rendered in Jim Michaelson’s whimsical and psychedelic style.
The city is shown as a fantastical vertical metropolis, viewed from across the Golden Gate Bridge, with its iconic hills exaggerated into a monumental mountain of buildings and landmarks stacked one upon another. The illustration captures both the energy of the city and the artistic sensibilities of the late 1960s, when San Francisco stood at the epicenter of the hippie movement, psychedelic art, and groundbreaking rock music.
Music, Counterculture, and Social Commentary
At the heart of the composition are references to the city’s thriving music scene, with venues and promoters like the Fillmore Auditorium, the Avalon Ballroom, Family Dog, and Bill Graham woven into the cityscape. Legendary bands of the period—including Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin), Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Moby Grape—are celebrated in signs and banners across the city, situating this poster firmly in the cultural landscape of the Summer of Love era.
Michaelson’s playful details extend beyond the buildings: Alcatraz appears in the bay labeled with a sardonic “Hate” flag, the Golden Gate Bridge rises in the foreground, and whimsical floating ships, banners, and figures add surreal humor. Psychedelic motifs of peace, love, and protest thread through the imagery, emphasizing the social and political context of San Francisco in the 1960s.
Unique Printing Style from a Unique Place and Time
Printed in bold orange with black linework and a red ornamental border, the poster was produced on coated stock with oil-based inks that create a reflective sheen when viewed in the light. This finish enhances the richness of the colors and the dynamic energy of the design, a quality characteristic of psychedelic prints meant to catch the eye and shift with the viewer’s perspective. Michaelson, along with contemporaries like Wes Wilson and Victor Moscoso, contributed to the visual identity of the counterculture, and this map-poster remains a striking emblem of San Francisco’s place in that history.
NOTE: The scanned image does not capture the shine of the printed image that appears when viewed from an angle in person. In short, our picture does not do it justice!
CONDITION
1200 W. 35th Street #425 Chicago, IL 60609 | P: (312) 496 - 3622