Germany's Foremost Graphic Artist Günther Kieser
Mainz, Verlag Hermann Schmidt, 1989. 2° Folio, Softcover/Paperback.
“Vintage Rock Posters offers a $20,000 reward for original Kieser Jimi Hendrix 1969 German tour blank with venue information printed on the layout. They are offering other rewards, so please go to the home page for more details.”
Poster artists do a tremendous service each time they design a concert advertising poster for a musician or band because they take a snapshot of an artist who might be early in their career or a performer at the height of their popularity. Their art captures design trends and prevalent culture when printed and used to advertise the show in each city the artist or band played. The viewer reminisces being at the concert or wishes they could have been there. Regardless, this appreciation makes concert posters a valuable art form that tracks American artists' career trajectories since the 1920s.
Two great artists met in Germany in early 1969. One a virtuoso guitarist named Jimi Hendrix, and the other was Germany's foremost graphic artist Günther Kieser. Hendrix became the most influential electric guitarists in the history of rock n' roll music. Kieser produced a tour blank for Hendrix's 1969 European tour with most of the shows in Germany. His "Medusa Head" image of Hendrix is probably the most enduring in rock concert poster history.
Kieser produced posters for the following Hendrix shows in January in 1969:
Jan 23 Germany Berlin Sportpalast
Jan 22 Austria Vienna Wiener Konzerthaus
Jan 21 France Strasbourg Hall du Wacken 9
Jan 17 Germany Frankfurt Jahrhunderthalle
Jan 16 Germany Nuremberg Meistersingerhalle
Jan 15 Germany Munich Kongressaal
Jan 14 Germany Münster Halle Münsterland
Günther Kieser was born in 1930 and trained at Werkkunstschule in Offenbach. Kieser began his career as a free-lance artist in 1949 and founded a studio with Hans Michel in 1952. One of their first jobs was designing stamps for the German Mail Service. While working at Lippmann & Rau, Kieser's fame grew when he began creating posters for European jazz concert promoters. Over the next decade, Kieser created concert posters for jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, and John Coltrane. He also produced album covers for the jazz label Blue Note. He joined the German Werkbund in 1956. Kieser is one of the most influential jazz and rock poster designers of his time, and his work became cultural fixtures in the jazz and rock music scene in the 1950s and 1960s.
Kieser's approach brings graphic qualities to the layout by combining photography with fanciful three-dimensional object-like arrangements. He has a knack for visualizing text as an expressive form. His work predates digital design. Regardless, he creates stunning graphical effects without the use of any computer-aided design software. Kieser's work is exhibited worldwide and is an essential contributor to any modern popular art museum collection. Besides Hendrix, Kieser also designed posters for the Grateful Dead, Traffic, Ray Charles, Frank Zappa, Santana, Miles Davis, and The Who.
Bahr Galler, Günther Kieser
Kieser turns 90 this year and still lives in his hometown Offenbach, Germany. He is a father of two daughters.
Vintage Rock Posters is offering a $20,000 reward for original Kieser posters with venue information printed on the layout. Other rewards are offered. Please go to the home page for more details.
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