Bob Dylan: Earth ,Water, Fire, Air

San Francisco’s Wespac Visual Communications produced this black light poster with Bob Dylan as its central image, surrounded by the Four Elements. It is listed as W12 which would be one of the earlier Wespac posters. Posters were the lingua franca of the baby boomer generation in the late 1960s and early 70’s They were inexpensive, didn’t need to be framed, and could be easily and cheaply replaced as the times changed. Wespac was one of many companies that sprung up across the country to fill the enormous demand.

In the Hindu universe there are five cosmic elements, Akasha, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. Akasha connotes creative energy and the other four elements represent creation proper. Since we have the four elements surrounding Mr. Dylan, perhaps it is he who represents the “creative force.” Astrology and Eastern religions were very much studied and on the minds of the hippie generation and it’s very likely that the various goddesses depicted here were deliberately selected.