The High Mass is Coming

This very cool 1967 poster titled, High Mass Is Coming In November, announced a hippie happening or play they called the High Mass. The High Mass was some sort of theatre production and the purpose was to advertise a new boutique called the “Hip Arts” store. These stores to serve the surging hippie population following the Summer of Love popped up like mushrooms (appropriately) all over San Francisco and then disappeared as quickly as they arrived.

The artwork was created by well-known poster artist Robert Fried who was one of the most highly regarded poster artists of the era. Fried was a trained commercial artist who taught at the San Francisco Art Institute. Like the work of his friend Victor Moscoso, Fried’s formal training gave his work remarkable precision and restraint, creating designs that explored geometry and color in a strikingly unique style. This poster is dated 1967, #2, which was the numbering system for this series by “The Food,” which was Fried’s poster distribution company.