Alton Kelly
Encyclopedia
Alton Kelley was an American
artist
best known for his psychedelic art
, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concerts and albums. Along with artists Rick Griffin
, Stanley Mouse
, Victor Moscoso
and Wes Wilson
, Kelley founded the Berkeley Bonaparte distribution agency in order to produce and sell psychedelic poster art.
Along with fellow artist Stanley Mouse
, Kelley is credited with creating the wings and beetles on all Journey
album covers as well as the skull and roses image for the Grateful Dead
. Kelley's artwork on the 1971 self-titled live album, Grateful Dead
, incorporated a black and white illustration of a skeleton by Edmund Sullivan, which originally appeared in a 19th century edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
.
In 1995, Kelley designed and printed a limited edition poster of Jack Kerouac
to raise money for the Jan Kerouac
Benefit Fund. Kelley is also credited for the cover art from the 1996, King's X
album Ear Candy.
He was brought up in Connecticut and worked as a welder there.
He died on June 1, 2008, at the age of 67, after a long illness.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
best known for his psychedelic art
Psychedelic art
Psychedelic art is any kind of visual artwork inspired by psychedelic experiences induced by drugs such as LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin. The word "psychedelic" "mind manifesting". By that definition all artistic efforts to depict the inner world of the psyche may be considered "psychedelic"...
, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concerts and albums. Along with artists Rick Griffin
Rick Griffin
Richard Alden Griffin was an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s. As a contributor to the underground comix movement, his work appeared regularly in Zap Comix. Griffin was closely identified with the Grateful Dead, designing some of their best known...
, Stanley Mouse
Stanley Mouse
Stanley George Miller , better known as Mouse and Stanley Mouse, is an American artist, notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and Grateful Dead album cover art.-Early life:...
, Victor Moscoso
Victor Moscoso
Victor Moscoso is an artist best known for producing psychedelic rock posters/advertisements and underground comix in San Francisco during the 1960s and '70s....
and Wes Wilson
Wes Wilson
Wes Wilson is an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters. Most well known for designing posters for Bill Graham of the The Fillmore in San Francisco, he invented a style that is now synonymous with the peace movement, psychedelic era and the 1960s...
, Kelley founded the Berkeley Bonaparte distribution agency in order to produce and sell psychedelic poster art.
Along with fellow artist Stanley Mouse
Stanley Mouse
Stanley George Miller , better known as Mouse and Stanley Mouse, is an American artist, notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and Grateful Dead album cover art.-Early life:...
, Kelley is credited with creating the wings and beetles on all Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
album covers as well as the skull and roses image for the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
. Kelley's artwork on the 1971 self-titled live album, Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead (album)
Grateful Dead is the seventh album by the Grateful Dead, released in October 1971 on Warner Bros. Records, catalogue 2WS-1935. It is their second live double album, and also known generally by the names Skull and Roses and Skull Fuck Grateful Dead is the seventh album by the Grateful Dead,...
, incorporated a black and white illustration of a skeleton by Edmund Sullivan, which originally appeared in a 19th century edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his translation of a selection of poems, originally written in Persian and of which there are about a thousand, attributed to Omar Khayyám , a Persian poet, mathematician and astronomer...
.
In 1995, Kelley designed and printed a limited edition poster of Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
to raise money for the Jan Kerouac
Jan Kerouac
Janet Michelle "Jan" Kerouac was an American writer and the only child of beat generation author Jack Kerouac and Joan Haverty Kerouac.-Early life and career:...
Benefit Fund. Kelley is also credited for the cover art from the 1996, King's X
King's X
King's X is an American hard rock band that combines progressive metal, funk and soul with vocal arrangements influenced by gospel, blues, and British Invasion rock groups. The band's lyrics are largely based on the members' struggles with religion and self-acceptance...
album Ear Candy.
He was brought up in Connecticut and worked as a welder there.
He died on June 1, 2008, at the age of 67, after a long illness.