John Van Hamersveld may not be known for singing or playing guitar, but he's unquestionably a rock star. His visual imagination helped shape the iconography of the '60s and '70s; he was among those who gave psychedelia an artistic vocabulary. In the ensuing decades he's applied his relentless creativity to everything from street art to corporate advertising.
The short list of his "hits" includes the color-saturated poster for the film Endless Summer (which amped up the mythology of the surfer); his arresting "Indian" (vital agitprop for the Hippies); his rendering of guitar god Jimi Hendrix with the mien of a classical composer; that sauciest of mementos mori, the "skull tongue" graphic (gratefully adopted by the Grateful Dead and their fans); the cover of the Rolling Stones' quintessential Exile on Main St. album; the "Johnny Face" cartoon beloved of the Stones; and countless ads and art installations around the world.
In short, John Van Hamersveld ranks among the great illustrators of popular culture, and we're extremely proud to present several of his most illustrious designs in wearable form: Crazy World Ain't It (AKA the "Johnny Face"); Indian; Skull Tongue; Pinnacle (AKA truckin' skull tongue); Skater; Butterfly; and Cowboy.
Our John Van Hamersveld T-shirts are fully licensed, endorsed and made from the softest, prewashed and shrunk cotton jesery. We faithfully reproduce the original articles as tracked down by Worn Free from archive images. |