ABOUT WALTER: Prominent 1960s Rock Poster historian, Walter Medeiros, passes on his legacy
ABOUT WALTER: Prominent 1960s Rock Poster historian, Walter Medeiros, passes on his legacy
Walter Medeiros (1932-2016) was a prominent archivist, historian and writer, who specialized in collecting and writing about the Rock Posters of the 1960s counterculture music scene in San Francisco.
Walter in Shasta, California, c. 2005
Walter Medeiros (1932-2016) was a prominent archivist, historian and writer, who specialized in collecting and writing about the Rock Posters of the 1960s counterculture music scene in San Francisco (CA, USA).
Walter Medeiros collected a vast number of prized posters, handbills, magazines, counterculture art, and other psychedelic ephemera. He was close friends with many of the most prominent artists including Wes Wilson, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, David Singer, and Victor Moscoso. He had a special friendship with the visionary artist Wilfried Sätty, and was the careful Executor and champion of Sätty’s work for over 30 years.
Upon Walter’s passing in 2016, he left this enormous archive to his two children Ryan Medeiros and Molly DeCoudreaux, who are committed to carrying on his legacy and vision today. The Archive consists of thousands of unique items that posses priceless historical and artistic value. The vast majority of items are in mint (or near mint) condition and are securely stored in a climate controlled environment.
Artists who were close friends and associates
Wes Wilson
Wilfried Sätty
Alton Kelley
Stanley Mouse
David Singer
Randy Tuten
Victor Moscoso
Selected Writing Credits
High Societies (1st Edition), Psychedelic Rock Posters from Haight-Ashbury
by Sally Tomlinson, Walter Patrick Medeiros, D. Scott Atkinson
Paperback, 89 Pages, Published 2001 by San Diego Museum Of Art
ISBN-13: 978-0-937108-27-7, ISBN: 0-937108-27-8
High Art (1st Edition)
A History of the Psychedelic Poster
by Ted Owen, Denise Dickson, Walter Patrick Medeiros, John A. Platt, Randy Tuten
Paperback, 176 Pages, Published 1999 by Sanctuary Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-86074-256-9, ISBN: 1-86074-256-4
Visions of Frisco
An Imaginative Depiction of San Francisco During the Gold Rush and the Barbary Coast ERA
by Wilfried Satty, Walter Patrick Medeiros
Hardcover, 245 Pages, Published 2007 by Regent Press
ISBN-13: 978-1-58790-141-6, ISBN: 1-58790-141-2
Exhibition catalogue 'San Francisco Rock Poster Art’, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, published by the museum in 1976
Art Biography / C.V. for Wes Wilson: https://www.carolynferris.com/robert-wesley-wilson-by-walter-medeiros.html
San Francisco rock concert posters: imagery and meaning.
Author: Walter Patrick Medeiros, Date: [1972], Dissertation: University of California, Berkeley, Edition/Format:: Thesis/dissertation
Walter’s C.V.
Walter Medeiros, Art Historian
EDUCATION
University of California, Berkeley. Bachelor of Arts, 1969; Master of Arts, 1972. Since 1971 I have been involved with research, writing, exhibitions and lectures on the San Francisco Rock Music Poster Art and the psychedelic counterculture.
WRITING
"San Francisco Rock Concert Posters: Imagery and Meaning." U.C. Berkeley, 1972, Master's Thesis.
"The San Francisco Dance Concert Posters: Notes From the Underground." Smithsonian Institution commission (unpublished), Washington D. C., 1975.
"From Frisco With Love: An Introduction to the Dance Concert Poster Art." Exhibition catalog, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1976.
"The Art of Rock." Abbeville Press, New York, NY. 1987. Contributed research materials and excerpts from writings.
"Freehand: The Art of Stanley Mouse." SLG Books, Berkeley, CA, 1993. Essay on Stanley Mouse's art.
"The Art of the Fillmore." Acid Test Productions, Petaluma, CA, 1997. "Inside Drawn Out", an essay on psychedelics and graphic art.
"High Art: A History of the Psychedelic Poster", Sanctuary Publishing Ltd., London, England, 1999. Text from SFMOMA catalog, 1976.
"High Societies: Psychedelic Rock Posters of the Haight-Ashbury." Exhibition catalog, San Diego Museum of Art, 2001
EXHIBITIONS
Organized "Victor Moscoso's KSAN Bus Poster." University Art Museum, U.C. Berkeley, 1972.
Consultant and lender: "Original Master Posters." Civic Arts Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA, 1972.
Consultant and lender: "Electric Posters: San Francisco Rock Concert Memorabilia, 1966 - 1968." U.C. Davis Memorial Union, Davis, CA, 1974.
Consultant and lender: "Images of an Era: The American Poster, 1945-1975." National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington , D.C., 1975
Organized "San Francisco Rock Poster Art." San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, 1976.
Consultant and lender: "An Imaginative History of San Francisco: The Collages of Wilfried Satty." California Historical Society, San Francisco, CA, 1984.
Consultant: "The American Psychedelic Poster and Film." City Museum, Munster, Germany, 1986.
Consultant and lender: "Flashback: A Psychedelic Exhibition." San Francisco Center for the Book, 1997. (Loaned Satty collages, and presented slide lecture on Satty's art.)
Walter on his Archive of Counter Culture Art
THE ARCHIVE OF COUNTERCULTURE ART 1506 B BONITA STREET BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94709
I've lived in California since age 12, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area. I spent about ten years in Southern California -- San Clemente area, L. A. , and Santa Barbara. While studying architecture in Berkeley during the late 1950s I became interested in the Beat culture, folk music, and Zen philosophy. A jazz and rhythm and blues fan since high school, I turned on to psychedelic rock music when, after a year in Europe, I moved to San Francisco in 1966. During the next several years I went to the Fillmore and Avalon dance halls, and to numerous other counterculture musical and political events. Counterculture involvement intensified when I moved to Berkeley in early 1968, to study art history at the University of California. On campus, the rock posters were still given out weekly, and ardent social and anti-war protest activities continued until 1970.
Formal study of the counterculture began in 1971, in preparation for my master's thesis (San Francisco sock Concert Posters: Imagery and meaning, U. C. Berkeley, 1972). ?here had been a few exhibitions of the posters by that time, and from the art critics' comments it was apparent that they had very little understanding of the sources and significance of the art. Convinced that the art deserved documentation, I obtained approval to do original research on the subject. I studied the posters, contacted the major artists (about a dozen), and conducted in-depth interviews about their work and their involvement in the whole art, music and dance hall scene. I developed a close acquaintance with several of the artists ( Wes Wilson, Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse, Randy Tuten, and David Singer), which provided the opportunity to learn more about their personal approach and observe their works in progress. I have also interviewed the music and poster producers, such as Chet Helms, poster printers and distributors, and several of the major light show artists.
Since the early 1970s I have lectured and served as consultant for several rock poster shows. In 1976 I organized and wrote a catalog for a major retrospective exhibition of the S. F. rock posters at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Recently, my archive material has been used for the forthcoming book, The Rock Poster. I am working on a monograph on Wes Wilson, and on a book depicting the history of San Francisco from the gold rush to the 1890s, based on a series of imaginative illustrations created by the late S. F. visionary collage artist, Satty.
Hi There! My name is Ryan Medeiros, and I am the owner of Posterdelic — the Premium Etsy store for Authentic Vintage Rock Posters and Collectables.
Growing up in the 70s and 80s in the SF Bay Area with my dad Walter, I have been admiring psychedelic posters and graphics since before I could walk or talk.
For my father, the art was everything—he collected any and all posters and graphics he could get his hands on, he was friends with and interviewed the famous Rock Poster artists, he wrote catalogs, articles and books. So I was introduced to this world from birth. I couldn’t avoid it, every square foot of wall space (and even the ceilings) were covered!
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Upon his passing in 2016, my sister Molly and I were left this amazing collection. After much thought, we decided that it would be good to share some of this with the wider world, collectors, and younger generations—to promote the beauty, strength and legacy of this collection.
And so in 2020, Posterdelic was born. Since then, Posterdelic has become the premium vintage online for 1960s and 1970s Rock and Rock Posters, Handbills, Tickets and other ephemera from the Psychedelic Era.
Walter’s Writings Selections
"San Francisco Rock Concert Posters: Imagery and Meaning." U.C. Berkeley, 1972, Master's Thesis.
This Thesis is included in the Concise Bibliography of the Haight-Ashbury, compiled by the staff of the Museum of the City of San Francisco
"From Frisco With Love: An Introduction to the Dance Concert Poster Art." Exhibition catalog, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1976.
It surprised me to find that this museum catalog is sought out as a vintage item. Check out this listing: https://www.thesedaysla.com/products/from-frisco-with-love-an-introduction-to-the-dance-concert-poster-art
"The Art of Rock." Abbeville Press, New York, NY. 1987. Contributed research materials and excerpts from writings.
Walter’s Writings Selections Cont.
"Freehand: The Art of Stanley Mouse." SLG Books, Berkeley, CA, 1993. Essay on Stanley Mouse's art.
"The Art of the Fillmore." Acid Test Productions, Petaluma, CA, 1997. "Inside Drawn Out", an essay on psychedelics and graphic art.
"High Art: A History of the Psychedelic Poster", Sanctuary Publishing Ltd., London, England, 1999. Text from SFMOMA catalog, 1976.
Walter’s Writings Selections Cont.
"High Societies: Psychedelic Rock Posters of the Haight-Ashbury." Exhibition catalog, San Diego Museum of Art, 2001
Vision Book
"The San Francisco Dance Concert Posters: Notes From the Underground." Smithsonian Institution commission (unpublished), Washington D. C., 1975. https://www.si.edu/object/siris_sil_110939
Walter’s Exhibition Selections
Organized "Victor Moscoso's KSAN Bus Poster." University Art Museum, U.C. Berkeley, 1972.
Consultant and lender: "Images of an Era: The American Poster, 1945-1975." National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington , D.C., 1975
Organized "San Francisco Rock Poster Art." San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, 1976.
Walter’s Exhibition Selections Cont.
SAN JOSE
WILFRIED SATTY
San Jose Museum of Art SAN JOSE | CALIFORNIA | USA
OCT 17, 2008 - MAR 22, 2009
https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/WILFRIED-SATTY/4E6F90B4C5A8325B
Sacramento
Gold on the Bay -- Satty Art
California Museum
Exhibit
Date: ? Early 2000s
San Francisco ???
California HIstorical Society? Mission at New MOnt. ?
Early 2000s
Walter’s Exhibition Selections Cont.
Consultant and lender: "An Imaginative History of San Francisco: The Collages of Wilfried Satty." California Historical Society, San Francisco, CA, 1984.
Consultant: "The American Psychedelic Poster and Film." City Museum, Munster, Germany, 1986
Walter’s Exhibition Selections Cont.
Consultant and lender: "Flashback: A Psychedelic Exhibition." San Francisco Center for the Book, 1997. (Loaned Satty collages, and presented slide lecture on Satty's art.)
Susan Landauer