The Art of Rick Griffin [Paperback]

Rick Griffin (Author), Gordon McClelland (Author, Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2001

Rick Griffin began his career drawing for Surfer and Hot Rod Cartoons. By the mid-1960s, his work was appearing in posters designed for the Fillmore and album covers for the Grateful Dead. Descended from dada and surrealism, Griffin's art expresses psychedelic and religious themes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Last Gasp; Limited edition (December 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0867194081
• ISBN-13: 978-0867194081
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Master, May 12, 2007

By 

K. Swanson (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of Rick Griffin (Paperback)

This is a fabulous treat for the eyes.

Griffin perfected the late 60s San Fran poster art style in his work for the Dead and others (cover of Aoxomoxoa, for instance, or the immortal surfing eyeball poster for the GD with It's A Beautiful Day), and he was also a phenomenally gifted painter, spraybrush stylist, and pen and ink man. He takes the art deco influence of the SF school and melds it with a classicist's sensibility, creating a beautiful synthesis of mind and Mother Nature.

There is no doubt that Michelangelo or DaVinci would smile in appreciation at Rick's Omo Bob Rides South, a six-page black and white masterpiece where each page is an absolutely perfectly composed gem that stands on its own as a true work of art. He exhibits the total control of a master, and his eye for symmetry is astounding, as is the depth of his chiaroscuro. Griffin is also one of the great letterers of all time; it's a real joy to read words written in his inimitable script (but imitated ever since, including almost every decent graffiti artist).

To top it off, his writing is genius in Omo Bob, reflecting a deep understanding of life's many paradoxes. If you've never experienced this work, get good and ready in your favorite way (RG was an early fan of Dr. Hof, and that influence is clearly felt) and then spend at least ten minutes on each page, letting your eyes bathe in the serpentine brilliance; you will be endlessly rewarded. I still enjoy it at least once a year, decades after my first exposure to it (in the classic Zap comics), and never tire of its mellifluous lines and incredible detail.

The book also highlights some of his early surf work (a surfer through and through, Griffin's work embodies the grace and flow of a true waterman; no one has ever visually conveyed the joy of a wave like RG), his album covers, his paintings, and various pieces.

But it is Omo Bob and a couple other pen and ink pieces here that ensure his artistic immortality. Griffin was by all accounts a wonderful friend and a very spiritual man, and those qualities shine through in his art.

It is somehow very comforting and reassuring to gaze upon his work; there is proof here that a deep and perfect form lies beyond the seeming chaos of the physical plane.

What more can you ask from art than that?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars simply beautiful, September 6, 2005

By 

Daingerfield Ashton Jr. (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of Rick Griffin (Paperback)

This is an excellent printing on heavy stock of some of the finest works from a master of poster and comic artist from the San Francisco Haight Ashbury era. I think it is a wonderful addition to any collection of psychedelic ephemera, and an admirable part of my own art library.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great bang for the buck, January 9, 2007

By 

Andrew D. Clark "ac" (SF, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Art of Rick Griffin (Paperback)

This book was out of print for a while and ebay prices were not cheep. To get it for under $20 seems like a steal. It is exactly as I remember from the late 80's. Beutifully reproduced on nice paper.