Martin Sharp meets Michelangelo
Martin Sharp & Michelangelo, Live Give Love, BOP4, Big O Posters, London, 1968.
Offset lithograph print in black ink on silver foil-coated card, 20 x 30 inches.
Offset lithograph print in black ink on silver foil-coated card, 20 x 30 inches.
Martin Sharp's 1968 poster Live Give Love is an adaptation of a section of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel fresco The Creation of Man (1511-12). Renaissance high art here meets Sixties "high art" in a glistening piece of psychedelia. The poster forms a companion piece to Sharp's more famous Wheels of Fire album cover of the same date, commissioned by his friend and flat-mate Eric Clapton for the latter's rock band Cream.
The two works, as printed during 1968 in black ink on silver foil-coated card,
present Christian and Eastern religious icons in a manner accessible to a young, contemporary audience familiar with the effects of hallucinogenic drugs such
as LSD. The simple text of Live Give Love reflects the
dominant themes of peace and love which were at the heart of the
counterculture and hippie movement between 1966-8. The peak occurred in the United States and United Kingdom during 1967's so-called Summer of Love, with the holding of the Monterey Pop Festival on 16-17 June and transmission the following weekend of The Beatles live, international satellite broadcast - a first - of All You Need is Love the following weekend. The movement was to have a profound effect internationally, in opening up largely conservative Western societies to new, alternate ways of thinking and being.
The search for meaning
During
his lifetime Australian artist Martin Sharp (1942-2013) was not prone to public outbursts of emotion, though humanity and
compassion did shine through in his art and personal interactions. An
extensive network of friends and acquaintances was testament to this, as
was the fact that Sharp was deeply affected by the deaths of a father
and six young boys in Sydney's Luna Park Ghost Train fire in 1979.
Thereafter the simple word Eternity resonated more
strongly with him. This was a Christian slogan previously etched anonymously in chalk on the footpaths of Sydney by Arthur Stace between 1932-67. Sharp first made reference to it in his art during 1969, having encountered it whilst growing up in Sydney. Prior to this, during the Sixties he had both
rejected the trappings of traditional religion and embraced elements of
the various countercultural revolutions and evolutions then taking place in locales
such as Great Britain, the United States and Australia. Bob Dylan and rock, pop, and even the classics, was the soundtrack of his life, such that an aberrant performer such as Tiny Tim was an easy fit. Societal change, cultural
diversity, experimentation with mind-altering drugs and openness in
regards to matters of art, politics, relationships and sexuality were all elements in the day-to-day
existence of this handsome young Australian artist. Alternate religions,
Eastern philosophies, spirituality, the occult and the esoteric were
also thrown in for good measure, with Great Britain a hot bed for such diverse interests during the latter part of the Sixties. Sharp usually steered clear of party politics,
though he was not adverse to lampooning politicians and the political
process through his cartoons, collage and sculpture. He easily adopted elements of the hippie,
flower-child ethos of Swinging London where he was resident from the
middle of 1966 through to the end of 1968, as it tied in with many of
his already held beliefs and provided new direction for his art. The
poster Live Give Love from that period is a manifestation of this, with Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel masterpiece The Creation of Man given a psychedelic makeover like no other.
The poster
Live Give Love was first issued by Big O Posters of London during the first half of 1968, though the precise date of the original composition and printing is not known. The drawing was a personal expression of Sharp's abiding interest in the work of past masters and art history in general, with a penchant at the time for reusing works through collage, or a reworking and reinterpretation as in Live Give Love. The poster artwork was very much a statement of the times in its use of psychedelic lettering and motifs, with an emphasis on the word Love, which was a common catch cry of the Woodstock generation. This exquisitely drawn, and beautiful print, is unlike many of Sharp's Big O posters of
the time, in that it was based
entirely on an original full-size sketch in ink which was then printed on silver
foil-covered card using the offset lithography process. Other posters by Sharp from this period, such as Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Mind, Donovan's Sunshine Superman, and Legalise Cannabis for a rally in Hyde Park, were a mixture of ink drawing and photographic images. In the latter poster the pen was substantially replaced by collage, a method much favoured by the artist at this time and perhaps best seen in his work with the Sydney and London editions of OZ magazine. Live Give Love is collage-free and a good example of Sharp's adroit skill with the pen. It is an intensely detailed work highlighting his use of cross-hatching to provide contrast and create an almost three dimensional feeling of depth, with numerous layers and intersection of elements and shading combined in a frenetic, maze-like manner.
The poster is not dated, though evidence would suggest that it was conceived during the latter part of 1967 and first offered for sale early the following year. Though allocated the Big O catalogue number BOP4, it was not listed in their posters for sale advertisement published within the February 1968 issue of OZ London magazine. This is surprising as numbering up to BOP14 was included at that time. The book The Art of Big O (2014) did not provide a comprehensive catalogue listing therein. It seems likely that Sharp produced the original drawing and presented it to Big O for printing. It was immediately allocated a production number, however the actual printing appears to have been delayed, perhaps due to the unprecedented success during the latter part of 1967 of posters such as Blowing in the Mind, which quickly went into multiple reprints and continued in its popularity through to the early 1970s. No contemporary, 1968 references to the initial appearance of Live Give Love have been located. Of note is the fact that the size of Sharp's original ink drawing, as transferred to the poster, differed from his other foil-coated Big O productions of 1967-8 in that it did not fit the standard rectangular 20 x 30 inch sheet format, but was somewhat shortened in the horizontal direction and closer to a square. This left a blank space on the right side of the sheet between the edge of the drawing and the printer details - a space which Sharp and Big O saw little need in filling. Live Give Love was also different in that it was printed in simple black without additional colouring, thereby presenting it largely as Sharp drew it and perhaps, more importantly, as he wanted it presented. Sharp had a close professional relationship with the printer - Peter Ledeboer - with whom he had worked on London OZ, though it is likely he made the call in regards to how his work was to be printed up. Experimentation was a key element in the production of both the posters and the magazine during this period, with Sharp leading the way in the use of colour, medium and innovative design. His art, in seeking to engage with young people and like-minded members of the counterculture, appeared on paper, foil, mylar (clear plastic), buttons, t-shirts and shop fronts, as cartoons, comic strips, posters, magazines, books and individual gallery pieces.
The use of foil-coated card, though novel, was also not uncommon during this period, both in London and across the Atlantic in the United States with, for example, the poster for the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967 initially issued in multicolour on silver foil card. However, the plain black ink on silver of Live Give Love went against the prevailing trend towards psychedelia and the use of bright, or dayglo colours to ensure works stood out on the billboards and streets of London. Posters such as Blowing in the Mind were printed in stunning red on gold foil with this in mind, whilst Sharp's Jimi Hendrix from 1968 did not make use of foil but was a veritable explosion of colour on paper which could not be ignored. Live Give Love was subdued by comparison. Though Sharp's original drawing is of a standard whereby it can stand alone, the delicacy and detail of Live Give Love is an image not best revealed by black ink on greyish silver foil without highlights. The low contrast between the ink and foil flattens the image and diminishes its impact. The same could not be said for his earlier Donovan Sunshine Superman poster printed during the second half of 1967 and which, whilst similarly printed in black ink on silver foil, exhibited a greater degree of clarity and had a large, middle section printed in blue and red which drew the casual observer into the work. Big O had also printed a number of David Vaughan posters in monochrome black on silver during the same period. It seems likely that early (1967) stocks of the silver foil on card used by Big O were brighter, lighter and shinier than those available in 1968, which tended to be duller, greyer and less metallic, though the US ATCO Wheels of Fire LP cover of May 1968 was decidedly the latter.
A transparent variant of Live Give Love in pale red on light blue paper was printed for use with backlit projection, though once again its impact was diminished by the lack of contrast between ink and paper. Its success as a projection piece is unknown.
The poster is not dated, though evidence would suggest that it was conceived during the latter part of 1967 and first offered for sale early the following year. Though allocated the Big O catalogue number BOP4, it was not listed in their posters for sale advertisement published within the February 1968 issue of OZ London magazine. This is surprising as numbering up to BOP14 was included at that time. The book The Art of Big O (2014) did not provide a comprehensive catalogue listing therein. It seems likely that Sharp produced the original drawing and presented it to Big O for printing. It was immediately allocated a production number, however the actual printing appears to have been delayed, perhaps due to the unprecedented success during the latter part of 1967 of posters such as Blowing in the Mind, which quickly went into multiple reprints and continued in its popularity through to the early 1970s. No contemporary, 1968 references to the initial appearance of Live Give Love have been located. Of note is the fact that the size of Sharp's original ink drawing, as transferred to the poster, differed from his other foil-coated Big O productions of 1967-8 in that it did not fit the standard rectangular 20 x 30 inch sheet format, but was somewhat shortened in the horizontal direction and closer to a square. This left a blank space on the right side of the sheet between the edge of the drawing and the printer details - a space which Sharp and Big O saw little need in filling. Live Give Love was also different in that it was printed in simple black without additional colouring, thereby presenting it largely as Sharp drew it and perhaps, more importantly, as he wanted it presented. Sharp had a close professional relationship with the printer - Peter Ledeboer - with whom he had worked on London OZ, though it is likely he made the call in regards to how his work was to be printed up. Experimentation was a key element in the production of both the posters and the magazine during this period, with Sharp leading the way in the use of colour, medium and innovative design. His art, in seeking to engage with young people and like-minded members of the counterculture, appeared on paper, foil, mylar (clear plastic), buttons, t-shirts and shop fronts, as cartoons, comic strips, posters, magazines, books and individual gallery pieces.
The use of foil-coated card, though novel, was also not uncommon during this period, both in London and across the Atlantic in the United States with, for example, the poster for the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967 initially issued in multicolour on silver foil card. However, the plain black ink on silver of Live Give Love went against the prevailing trend towards psychedelia and the use of bright, or dayglo colours to ensure works stood out on the billboards and streets of London. Posters such as Blowing in the Mind were printed in stunning red on gold foil with this in mind, whilst Sharp's Jimi Hendrix from 1968 did not make use of foil but was a veritable explosion of colour on paper which could not be ignored. Live Give Love was subdued by comparison. Though Sharp's original drawing is of a standard whereby it can stand alone, the delicacy and detail of Live Give Love is an image not best revealed by black ink on greyish silver foil without highlights. The low contrast between the ink and foil flattens the image and diminishes its impact. The same could not be said for his earlier Donovan Sunshine Superman poster printed during the second half of 1967 and which, whilst similarly printed in black ink on silver foil, exhibited a greater degree of clarity and had a large, middle section printed in blue and red which drew the casual observer into the work. Big O had also printed a number of David Vaughan posters in monochrome black on silver during the same period. It seems likely that early (1967) stocks of the silver foil on card used by Big O were brighter, lighter and shinier than those available in 1968, which tended to be duller, greyer and less metallic, though the US ATCO Wheels of Fire LP cover of May 1968 was decidedly the latter.
A transparent variant of Live Give Love in pale red on light blue paper was printed for use with backlit projection, though once again its impact was diminished by the lack of contrast between ink and paper. Its success as a projection piece is unknown.
Martin Sharp & Michelangelo, Live Give Love, c.1971, Big O Posters, BAT8407.
Offset lithograph print in red ink on blue paper, 20 x 30 inches.
Offset lithograph print in red ink on blue paper, 20 x 30 inches.
The poster in both foil and paper versions is understated in regards to colour, and overstated in regards to detail and content. Busy is a term which comes to mind upon initial viewing. Its visceral elements, such as the human bone-like letter 'L' in Love, derive not only from Sharp's study of Dada and the Surrealists such as Max Ernst and Salvador Dali, but more specifically from the psychedelic experience itself and the taking of acid.
LSD
The drug known as LSD, or acid, was created in a Swiss laboratory during 1938. One of the inventing chemists Albert Hoffman accidentally took a dose in 1943, and in describing this first acid trip he noted "fantastic pictures of extraordinary plasticity and intensive colour seemed to surge towards me" (Hutchinson 1992). Hoffman recorded seeing sounds, hearing colours and the merging of space and time. The swirling blocks of colour seen during the Sixties on posters, body painting, fabrics, vehicles, interior design and all manner of graphics such as record covers was a manifestation of this as artists sought to replicate and enhance the psychedelic experience. In London during those years a "trip" was often described in a similar fashion to Hoffman's. It could have a profound effect on the individual, and artist in particular, both in regards to thoughts and beliefs, but also their various means of expression. To quote a well-known phrase from the time, it could "open the doors of perception" and reveal to the user multidimensional elements of their environment and personal interactions. This is readily seen in the work of the psychedelic artists of the day who worked in areas of graphic design, such as the coterie of San Francisco poster artists, along with rock musicians such as Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd), Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) and Jimi Hendrix. The latter's 1967 hit Purple Haze was a sonic version of an LSD trip, whilst Barrett and Green reflected their use of hallucinogens through the playing of extended, free-form jams, surrounded by multicolored light shows. Beauty, colour, intensity and surrealism are terms often associated with the psychedelic experience, and Martin Sharp's adaptation of Michelangelo's original work is an example of that, though in monotone.
Michelangelo and Martin
By far the most distinguishing feature of the Live Give Love poster is the manner in which Sharp has used elements of Michelangelo's famous Sistine Chapel fresco - specifically that section known as The Creation of Adam - alongside his complex and evolving psychedelic drawing style. The result is a work which initially appears to be a Christian artefact, though is in fact a variant on the rather extra-religious mantra of the time which made use of the words PEACE and LOVE, as, for example, in the Beatles song All You Need is Love, which was released on 7 July 1967. This rather sentimental, but heartfelt plea by the younger generation arose, in large part, out of the Cold War threat of nuclear annihilation and the televised horrors of the Vietnam war. Dr Strangelove bombers strafing the Vietnamese landscape with napalm and having a devastating and incendiary impact upon vegetation, property, fauna and humankind, when seen on the nightly television news could not help but turn the youth of the day against such apocalyptic events. Technological advances had enhanced humankind's capability for mindless, disengaged slaughter, and young people rebelled accordingly en masse, emboldened by the power of rock and roll given them after 1955. A decade later the nerve of this new generation had hardened and the range and scope of their demands increased. Peace and love were no longer merely empty words - they were states of being, and strident demands, within the grasp of those who were prepared to fight for their beliefs and not support another far off, bloody war or the stifling conservatism being foisted upon them. In coming to a similar state of mind, Sharp obviously reflected on the point of beginning of humanity - the creation of man and woman. This brought him rather circuitously to the two most famous and most reproduced artworks of all time. One was the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci - a work he featured on the covers of both Sydney and London editions of OZ magazine during 1964 and 1967. The other was by Michelangelo.
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Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, 1511-12, fresco [detail], Sistine Chapel, Rome.
In his adaptation of a section of Michelangelo's fresco The Creation of Adam, Sharp kept the central figures of Adam and God, but added his own witty touches. The simple original background of sky and earth in Michelangelo's work is replaced by a dense phantasmagoria of swirling lines, arrows, bubbles, flowers, hearts, shells, light rays, UFOs and letters, all of which are pure psychedelia. The contact point between the index fingers of God and man is now electric, with a burst of radiant energy emanating from its centre.
The elderly man on the right representing God is, in Sharp's drawing, floating on a cloud and surrounded by a group of naked figures, including a bare-breasted woman with Afro-style hair. Michelangelo's original had included a European female figure, with the arm of God wrapped around her as if she were a wife, a daughter or a lover. Below the figure of God is the word LOVE in large, visceral lettering, with a flower embedded in the centre of the O. Below the figure of Adam is a pile of what appears to be acid-laced sugar cubes. All of this is evidence of Sharp's direct experience with hallucinogens such as LSD. Having first encountered the drug in a London club at the end of 1966, its effect on his art would prove profound.
God and Vishnu
The South American, Asian and Australian covers utilised dark blue and gold inks to replicate the metallic silver foil effect, though there surfaces were not reflective and the result was muted. All of this is a reflection of Sharp's keen interest in experimenting with printing processes during this period, in order to have his works create the greatest possible impact. The impact of record covers such as Wheels of Fire was nevertheless immense, with the album top-selling around the world to hundreds of thousands of fans. It, along with the cover to Cream's second album Disraeli Gears, are undoubtedly Martin Sharp's most famous works, if not the most famous (i.e. well known) works by any Australian artist.
The Wheels of Fire cover, as a companion piece to Live Give Love, presents in a less obvious manner the alternative religious experience offered by Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism and Buddhism. There is no 'God creating man in his image' with this work, but rather that of one's potential being developed when the mind is exposed to hallucinogenic drugs. The face which features on both the album cover and its colourful inner gatefold, along with a later book cover derivative entitled Abraxas, was based on observations made by Sharp at the temples of Ankor in Cambodia during his overland trek from Sydney to London with Richard Neville during the first half of 1966. The face of Vishnu and Buddha is transformed by Sharp into one of disparate psychedelic elements, in a manner reminiscent of the 16th century artist Guiseppe Archimboldo, whose paintings recreated faces using fruit and food. Sharp's creation in this instance was a development of the Surrealist motifs of disembodied eyes and mouth which featured in his earlier Australian drawings and paintings, along with the various images coming out of a psychedelic experience. The Wheels of Fire imagery was supplemented by LSD-inspired psychedelic swirls, circles, clouds and motifs in the same manner as Live Give Love. These had begun appearing in Sharp's work from the beginning of 1967, around the time of his first acid trips at the UFO club. Here he saw Pink Floyd and its innovative light show, though it can be argued that his art contained elements which are now considered psychedelic from as early as 1965, prior to any introduction to hallucinogens. As Sharp later commented, "There was something in the air", and he was tuned into it, high or not. Psychedelics added to what was already arising within him.
Live Give Love and Wheels of Fire reflect the direct effects of an acid trip. Sharp has indicated that he did not work whilst under the influence of drugs because the art of drawing required a great deal of effort in order to be truly effective. He nevertheless accepted that he was influenced by hallucinogens during his time in London, and this post-ingestion effect is referred to in numerous contemporary studies. Hallucinogens opened up, to him, new ways of seeing and perceiving, just as they had done with Albert Hoffman in 1943. The effect of the synthetic, non-addictive LSD could extend over a period of hours, days, months or years, depending on the strength of the dose, the individual psyche and the process of the trip, whether guided or unguided. A bad trip or overdose of LSD, for example, could bring on a permanent psychotic reaction. Sharp appears to have been under the drug's direct influence from late 1966 through to at least the middle of 1968. His art accordingly changed during this period and he is now regarded as one of the pioneers and leading lights of the psychedelic art movement during the Sixties, with its major exponents coming out of London and San Francisco.
Live Give Love is one of the rarest of the Sharp series of foil posters from 1967-8. It was both traditional and psychedelic, yet never as popular as, for example, Blowing in the Mind. It has been little discussed, either around the time of its initial release or subsequently, though it is illustrated in a number of coffee table books featuring the art of rock music from the Sixties and counterculture posters. This lack of notoriety is perhaps due to its absence of bright psychedelic colouring, the seemingly antiquated subject matter - though given a contemporary makeover - and the semi-religious content, all of which may have diminished its visual impact and attraction to a young generation then engaged in buying posters to grace their bedroom walls - posters which would most often feature music idols of the day such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, or other contemporary icons including characters from the movie Easy Rider. On the list of pop icons of the Sixties, God does not figure highly, though his long-haired, bearded son Jesus, who attempted to spread a message of peace and love before being tortured and crucified, does rate. Even he is pushed down the list as a result of the monolithic church which arose in his wake and was seen to have lost its way by the time rock and roll hit the airwaves.
How, then, does one connect the Christian God and creation myth with the hippie movement's often drug-induced and apolitical pleas for peace and love, including sexual love? Conservative society had a problem with that in the Sixties, though it was not an irreconcilable issue, as Sharp's work reveals. The underlying quest for spiritual meaning in many of the movements and causes which arose during that time was not easily quashed, and the flower child symbolism was a simple tag representing the flowering of new possibilities. Tibetan Buddhism, Indian mysticism and an array of Eastern philosophies were sought out, written about and promoted, often for the first time to a young, receptive western audience. The traditional religions were the foundation from which change was measured. "Though shall not..." became "What if?" or "Do what though whilt" and conservative society was suitably outraged. It fought back of course, banning the drugs, censoring the printed material, keeping the music off the airwaves, arresting the leaders and belittling the beliefs. Martin Sharp, a child of the Sixties, grew up, experienced London at the height of the so-called Swinging Sixties, and eventually returned home to find new ways of living and expression through his art. The overtly psychedelic elements largely disappeared from his work, though it could be said to have persisted in the form of an intensity of colour and overriding optimism, aside from the Luna Park shadow which was never shaken.
What was
The complexity and rather dull presentation of Live Give Love meant that the number of printings over time has been limited. There are only four known variants of the poster. They consist of the following:
1) 1968 - The original, official, Big O Posters printing in black ink on silver foil-coated card (illustrated above), designated BOP4. A detailed attribution runs vertically along the right hand side of the poster and reads: BOP4 Live Give Love by Martin Sharp and Michelangelo. Published by Big O Posters Ltd 219 Eversleigh Road London SW11 5UY 01228 3392 Printed in England. This printing most likely took place during the first half of 1968 and continued through to the early 1970s when Big O actively sold and promoted Martin Sharp posters. There are no details at present regarding the number of print runs or quantity produced. The original print run may have only been of 1000 copies, reflecting the present scarcity of this poster. In comparison, Sharp's Bob Dylan Blowin' in the Mind Big O poster printing went into the hundreds of thousands.
2) 1971 - An official reprint of the poster, as seen in the 1971 Big O Posters catalogue It Must Be Art. This version is identified by the attribution running along the upper part of the right hand side of the poster, it being smaller than that on the original 1968 version. It reads: A Big O Poster (BAT8407).
3) 1971 - The Big O printing in red ink on pale blue transparent paper to be used in association with backlit projection. This most likely occurred around the same time as the 1971 printing as the inscription location is similar, though the relative rarity of the poster would suggest a very limited print run. The printer's inscription is similar to the second print referred above. It also reads: A Big O Poster (BAT8407).
4) 1990s - A bootleg reprint on silver foil paper, bearing the same inscription as the 1968 version. A copy is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This poster may have been part of the bootlegging of counterculture posters from the 1960s and 1970s by the late Nigel Mentzel. It is often difficult to tell them from the original 1968 official version.
What if?
In answer to the question posed - What if? - a recent posting by a young retro-hippie on the Trailing clouds of Glory blog site presented a colourised version of the poster. It is very much in the spirit of the Sixties.
The application of a bright yellow base with red, green, purple and body pink highlights works well in revealing the detail and intensity of Sharp's original drawing. Perhaps if it had of been printed in this manner back in 1968 Live Give Love would now be considered one of his greatest works, alongside Blowing in the Mind. As it stands it remains a little known poster which exhibits Martin Sharp's talent as artist, art historian and child of his time. In his own larrikin way, Sharp has taken an iconic piece of high art - i.e. art which is assessed by experts as a timeless classic - and applied a Sixties high art - i.e. art reflecting the use of hallucinogenic drugs - veneer to the work. Live Give Love is a classic work of art in both senses.
References
Bigham, Julia, Day-Go Mind Blow, Eye: The International Magazine of Graphic Design, volume 11, number 42, 2001, 32-43.
Evans, Mike, The Art of British Rock: 50 years of rock posters, flyers and handbills, Frances Lincoln, London, 2010. Illustrated page 67.
Farren, Mick, Get on Down! A Decade of Rock and Roll Posters, Demsey & Squires, London, 1976.
For the World's End: Selections from Jonathan Gill's flatter stuff, Catalogue 1465, Maggs Counterculture, Maggs, London, 2013. Auction sale catalogue. Illustrated cat. nos 33-34.
Grunberg, Christopher, ed., Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era, Tate Gallery, London, 2005, 239p.
Gunn, Anthea, A-changin' times: the art of Martin Sharp in the 60s, Journal of Australian Studies, 34(2), June 2010, 179-93.
Hathaway, Norman and Nadel, Dan, Electrical Banana: Masters of Psychedelic Art, Damiani, Bologna, 2011, 208p. Illustrated page 60.
Neville, Richard, Hippie Hippie Shake: the dreams, the trips, the trials, the love ins, the screw ups, the sixties, William Heinmann, Melbourne, 1995.
Owen, Ted, High Art: a history of the psychedelic poster, Sanctuary Publishing, 1999, 176p. Illustrated page 140.
Psychedelic Posters of the 1960s [website], accessed 21 January 2014.
Poyner, Rick, Martin Sharp: From Satire to Psychedelia, Observatory: Design and Visual Culture [blog], 12 December 2013. Accessed 26 January 2014. URL: http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/martin-sharp-from-satire-to-psychedelia/38242/.
Walding, Murray and Vukovic, Nick, Plastered: The Poster Art of Australian Popular Music, The Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2005.
Michael Organ
Last updated: 14 February 2020
The elderly man on the right representing God is, in Sharp's drawing, floating on a cloud and surrounded by a group of naked figures, including a bare-breasted woman with Afro-style hair. Michelangelo's original had included a European female figure, with the arm of God wrapped around her as if she were a wife, a daughter or a lover. Below the figure of God is the word LOVE in large, visceral lettering, with a flower embedded in the centre of the O. Below the figure of Adam is a pile of what appears to be acid-laced sugar cubes. All of this is evidence of Sharp's direct experience with hallucinogens such as LSD. Having first encountered the drug in a London club at the end of 1966, its effect on his art would prove profound.
God and Vishnu
The poster Live Give Love is in many ways similar in production and design to Sharp's cover artwork for the Cream double album Wheels of Fire. Issued during the first half of 1968, it was the recipient of the New York Art Directors Prize for Best Album Design in 1969. The initial American release of the record was printed with a fold-out cover using silver foil on heavy card, as with the poster Live Give Love, whilst the inner gatefold was multi-coloured on plain cardboard. A variant of the cover, in which a negative image was printed, is also known from the London edition of the double LP, as are versions in blue (South America) and gold (Asia and Australia).
Martin Sharp, Wheels of Fire - Cream, ATCO, New York, 1968. Foldout front and rear covers for the double album. Offset lithograph print in black ink on silver foil-coated card.
The South American, Asian and Australian covers utilised dark blue and gold inks to replicate the metallic silver foil effect, though there surfaces were not reflective and the result was muted. All of this is a reflection of Sharp's keen interest in experimenting with printing processes during this period, in order to have his works create the greatest possible impact. The impact of record covers such as Wheels of Fire was nevertheless immense, with the album top-selling around the world to hundreds of thousands of fans. It, along with the cover to Cream's second album Disraeli Gears, are undoubtedly Martin Sharp's most famous works, if not the most famous (i.e. well known) works by any Australian artist.
The Wheels of Fire cover, as a companion piece to Live Give Love, presents in a less obvious manner the alternative religious experience offered by Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism and Buddhism. There is no 'God creating man in his image' with this work, but rather that of one's potential being developed when the mind is exposed to hallucinogenic drugs. The face which features on both the album cover and its colourful inner gatefold, along with a later book cover derivative entitled Abraxas, was based on observations made by Sharp at the temples of Ankor in Cambodia during his overland trek from Sydney to London with Richard Neville during the first half of 1966. The face of Vishnu and Buddha is transformed by Sharp into one of disparate psychedelic elements, in a manner reminiscent of the 16th century artist Guiseppe Archimboldo, whose paintings recreated faces using fruit and food. Sharp's creation in this instance was a development of the Surrealist motifs of disembodied eyes and mouth which featured in his earlier Australian drawings and paintings, along with the various images coming out of a psychedelic experience. The Wheels of Fire imagery was supplemented by LSD-inspired psychedelic swirls, circles, clouds and motifs in the same manner as Live Give Love. These had begun appearing in Sharp's work from the beginning of 1967, around the time of his first acid trips at the UFO club. Here he saw Pink Floyd and its innovative light show, though it can be argued that his art contained elements which are now considered psychedelic from as early as 1965, prior to any introduction to hallucinogens. As Sharp later commented, "There was something in the air", and he was tuned into it, high or not. Psychedelics added to what was already arising within him.
Live Give Love and Wheels of Fire reflect the direct effects of an acid trip. Sharp has indicated that he did not work whilst under the influence of drugs because the art of drawing required a great deal of effort in order to be truly effective. He nevertheless accepted that he was influenced by hallucinogens during his time in London, and this post-ingestion effect is referred to in numerous contemporary studies. Hallucinogens opened up, to him, new ways of seeing and perceiving, just as they had done with Albert Hoffman in 1943. The effect of the synthetic, non-addictive LSD could extend over a period of hours, days, months or years, depending on the strength of the dose, the individual psyche and the process of the trip, whether guided or unguided. A bad trip or overdose of LSD, for example, could bring on a permanent psychotic reaction. Sharp appears to have been under the drug's direct influence from late 1966 through to at least the middle of 1968. His art accordingly changed during this period and he is now regarded as one of the pioneers and leading lights of the psychedelic art movement during the Sixties, with its major exponents coming out of London and San Francisco.
Live Give Love is one of the rarest of the Sharp series of foil posters from 1967-8. It was both traditional and psychedelic, yet never as popular as, for example, Blowing in the Mind. It has been little discussed, either around the time of its initial release or subsequently, though it is illustrated in a number of coffee table books featuring the art of rock music from the Sixties and counterculture posters. This lack of notoriety is perhaps due to its absence of bright psychedelic colouring, the seemingly antiquated subject matter - though given a contemporary makeover - and the semi-religious content, all of which may have diminished its visual impact and attraction to a young generation then engaged in buying posters to grace their bedroom walls - posters which would most often feature music idols of the day such as Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, or other contemporary icons including characters from the movie Easy Rider. On the list of pop icons of the Sixties, God does not figure highly, though his long-haired, bearded son Jesus, who attempted to spread a message of peace and love before being tortured and crucified, does rate. Even he is pushed down the list as a result of the monolithic church which arose in his wake and was seen to have lost its way by the time rock and roll hit the airwaves.
How, then, does one connect the Christian God and creation myth with the hippie movement's often drug-induced and apolitical pleas for peace and love, including sexual love? Conservative society had a problem with that in the Sixties, though it was not an irreconcilable issue, as Sharp's work reveals. The underlying quest for spiritual meaning in many of the movements and causes which arose during that time was not easily quashed, and the flower child symbolism was a simple tag representing the flowering of new possibilities. Tibetan Buddhism, Indian mysticism and an array of Eastern philosophies were sought out, written about and promoted, often for the first time to a young, receptive western audience. The traditional religions were the foundation from which change was measured. "Though shall not..." became "What if?" or "Do what though whilt" and conservative society was suitably outraged. It fought back of course, banning the drugs, censoring the printed material, keeping the music off the airwaves, arresting the leaders and belittling the beliefs. Martin Sharp, a child of the Sixties, grew up, experienced London at the height of the so-called Swinging Sixties, and eventually returned home to find new ways of living and expression through his art. The overtly psychedelic elements largely disappeared from his work, though it could be said to have persisted in the form of an intensity of colour and overriding optimism, aside from the Luna Park shadow which was never shaken.
What was
The complexity and rather dull presentation of Live Give Love meant that the number of printings over time has been limited. There are only four known variants of the poster. They consist of the following:
1) 1968 - The original, official, Big O Posters printing in black ink on silver foil-coated card (illustrated above), designated BOP4. A detailed attribution runs vertically along the right hand side of the poster and reads: BOP4 Live Give Love by Martin Sharp and Michelangelo. Published by Big O Posters Ltd 219 Eversleigh Road London SW11 5UY 01228 3392 Printed in England. This printing most likely took place during the first half of 1968 and continued through to the early 1970s when Big O actively sold and promoted Martin Sharp posters. There are no details at present regarding the number of print runs or quantity produced. The original print run may have only been of 1000 copies, reflecting the present scarcity of this poster. In comparison, Sharp's Bob Dylan Blowin' in the Mind Big O poster printing went into the hundreds of thousands.
2) 1971 - An official reprint of the poster, as seen in the 1971 Big O Posters catalogue It Must Be Art. This version is identified by the attribution running along the upper part of the right hand side of the poster, it being smaller than that on the original 1968 version. It reads: A Big O Poster (BAT8407).
3) 1971 - The Big O printing in red ink on pale blue transparent paper to be used in association with backlit projection. This most likely occurred around the same time as the 1971 printing as the inscription location is similar, though the relative rarity of the poster would suggest a very limited print run. The printer's inscription is similar to the second print referred above. It also reads: A Big O Poster (BAT8407).
4) 1990s - A bootleg reprint on silver foil paper, bearing the same inscription as the 1968 version. A copy is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. This poster may have been part of the bootlegging of counterculture posters from the 1960s and 1970s by the late Nigel Mentzel. It is often difficult to tell them from the original 1968 official version.
What if?
In answer to the question posed - What if? - a recent posting by a young retro-hippie on the Trailing clouds of Glory blog site presented a colourised version of the poster. It is very much in the spirit of the Sixties.
The application of a bright yellow base with red, green, purple and body pink highlights works well in revealing the detail and intensity of Sharp's original drawing. Perhaps if it had of been printed in this manner back in 1968 Live Give Love would now be considered one of his greatest works, alongside Blowing in the Mind. As it stands it remains a little known poster which exhibits Martin Sharp's talent as artist, art historian and child of his time. In his own larrikin way, Sharp has taken an iconic piece of high art - i.e. art which is assessed by experts as a timeless classic - and applied a Sixties high art - i.e. art reflecting the use of hallucinogenic drugs - veneer to the work. Live Give Love is a classic work of art in both senses.
References
Bigham, Julia, Day-Go Mind Blow, Eye: The International Magazine of Graphic Design, volume 11, number 42, 2001, 32-43.
Evans, Mike, The Art of British Rock: 50 years of rock posters, flyers and handbills, Frances Lincoln, London, 2010. Illustrated page 67.
Farren, Mick, Get on Down! A Decade of Rock and Roll Posters, Demsey & Squires, London, 1976.
For the World's End: Selections from Jonathan Gill's flatter stuff, Catalogue 1465, Maggs Counterculture, Maggs, London, 2013. Auction sale catalogue. Illustrated cat. nos 33-34.
Gleeson, James, Interview with Martin Sharp, National
Gallery of Australia, 1979, 90m 43s. Audio plus transcript. Available URL:
http://nga.gov.au/Research/Gleeson/pdf/Sharp.pdf.
Grunberg, Christopher, ed., Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era, Tate Gallery, London, 2005, 239p.
Gunn, Anthea, A-changin' times: the art of Martin Sharp in the 60s, Journal of Australian Studies, 34(2), June 2010, 179-93.
Hathaway, Norman and Nadel, Dan, Electrical Banana: Masters of Psychedelic Art, Damiani, Bologna, 2011, 208p. Illustrated page 60.
Neville, Richard, Hippie Hippie Shake: the dreams, the trips, the trials, the love ins, the screw ups, the sixties, William Heinmann, Melbourne, 1995.
Owen, Ted, High Art: a history of the psychedelic poster, Sanctuary Publishing, 1999, 176p. Illustrated page 140.
Psychedelic Posters of the 1960s [website], accessed 21 January 2014.
Poyner, Rick, Martin Sharp: From Satire to Psychedelia, Observatory: Design and Visual Culture [blog], 12 December 2013. Accessed 26 January 2014. URL: http://observatory.designobserver.com/feature/martin-sharp-from-satire-to-psychedelia/38242/.
Walding, Murray and Vukovic, Nick, Plastered: The Poster Art of Australian Popular Music, The Miegunyah Press, Carlton, 2005.
Michael Organ
Last updated: 14 February 2020
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