Art at the Music Festival: Blueprints and the Chronotope

Abstract

The events, festivals, and happenings of the late 1960s, especially those in the West coast areas of the United States, were predominantly music focused. During this period, and alongside these events, new types and modes of visual art, fashion, and graphic design emerged that were subsequently shared worldwide and are very familiar to us now. It can be argued that events such as the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock were progenitive and created the hippy style. If we look at the photographs, films, and posters from these events, there is little evidence of these new modes of practice. Very much like more recent events, the promotional material and documentation focus on the formally programed acts on the main stages as opposed to these other elements of the festival which is often where additional critical and intellectual innovation can be found. This essay will explore the nature of these festival events as sites that catalyze and subsequently promulgate new intellectual, critical, and creative forms.