Let’s Go Crazy

EVEN IF YOU DON’T recognize the name, you almost certainly know the work of John Van Hamersveld. The graphic designer and one-time art director at Capitol Records created some of the most recognizable popular-culture images from the 1960s to the ’80s. Album covers for the Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, Jefferson Airplane’s Crown of Creation, and the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street are among the more than 300 Van Hamersveld designed. His poster for Bruce Brown’s 1966 film, The Endless Summer, is part of the collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. On June 5, the traveling exhibition Crazy World Ain’t It: The Art of John Van Hamersveld brings roughly 60 of his paintings, drawings, prints, posters, album covers, and photographs to the Carlsbad Museum. We spoke with Jameson Lucas, community historian at the museum, to preview the show, which will include a closing reception and appearances by Van Hamersveld on August 7 and 8. 

New Mexico Magazine: What can attendees expect from Crazy World Ain’t It? 
Jameson Lucas: John really has a very storied career and an inspirational output. This particular exhibit highlights the last 60 years of his career. 

NMM: What will attendees learn about his work?  
JL: They will get an in-depth look at an artist who has really experimented with graphics over his career and get a good sense of his creative process. It will showcase how he starts on paper with Sharpie and transitions these drawings into full-scale graphics and paintings. John really is a true multidisciplinary artist. It’s a very colorful show, it’s very vibrant.

NMM: How would you describe his work to someone who is unfamiliar with it? 
JL: His work is bold. It’s kind of like you’re seeing the 1960s and 1970s compressed into graphic form. There is an intensity of colors and oversize lettering—it’s very pop culture. It’s electric and eclectic. 

NMM: How did he come to create so many iconic movie posters and album covers? 
JL: He was the art director at Capitol Records for a long time and had already done some album covers previously. He also did lots of concert posters for musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jefferson Airplane.

NMM: These images really reflect that era. Do you think his work created that groovy vibe as much as the music did? 
JL: His work defines the era and the sounds of the era as much as the sounds themselves. His imagery helped bring these sounds into culture as much as the music did. As people, we are so visually oriented, so seeing is as important as the sense of hearing. His visual imagery is just as important. 

NMM: What are you most excited to see? 
JL: I am personally excited to see his Sharpie drawing of Jimi Hendrix and an accompanying concert poster he created. This is a big deal. We love to bring in these cultural exhibits to the museum. You’re not going to get this sense anywhere else in southeastern New Mexico, and it’s important to bring a different perspective to the community.