I visited the de Young Museum in San Francisco a few days ago to escape the heat wave here in the Bay and got a chance to see the "Summer of Love" exhibition featuring photographs, video clips, artwork, and other psychedelic memorabilia from the iconic 1960s.
Trippy Pop Art Floor to Ceiling
First off, I was pretty impressed by the massive collection of psychedelic pop art and lithography posters - the three other walls of this room were all plastered floor to ceiling like this.
Haight-Ashbury district flooded with progressive youth seeking social change, 1967
Kaleidoscopic Cubicle or Torture Chamber?
This swirling kaleidoscopic cubicle was one of the first features in the exhibition which played an eerie, almost sinister black-and-white recording of a trip gone wrong with original film footage of a woman and man seemingly freaking out on acid in public. Given how dimly-lit this room was, there was almost a palpable feeling of vague trepidation among the other attendees for what the rest of the gallery had in store.
Acid Ethos - Turn on, Tune in, Drop out
This photograph by Ted Streshinsky depicts Ken Kesey's famous (infamous?) "acid tests" where LSD was broadly distributed and consumed to spread the counterculture lifestyle involving Civil Rights activism, anti-war sentiments, Free Love, and of course, rampant drug use.
"Pot Hits the Spot"
I thought this collection of buttons was interesting, including more dubious statements like "STAMP OUT REALITY" and the iconic anti-Vietnam War slogan "Make Love Not War."
An Unusual Wardrobe...
I talked to a few other people visiting the museum and they quietly agreed that the outfits were WAY off base in terms of accuracy. A staff member mentioned that the clothing was curated by a group of employees in their 40s, meaning many of them weren't even alive in the '60s. Still, I thought it was somewhat amusing to see how many of these hapharzardly-dressed mannequins were staged throughout the exhibit.
Too High to Enjoy the Museum? Relaaaaaax.
About halfway through the exhibit, there was a pretty cool curtained-off "trip room" complete with a light show, beanbag chairs, area rugs and a psychedelic soundtrack (featuring Jefferson Airplane at the moment I walked in). I glimpsed a young guy seemingly tripping out and looking pretty mind-boggled by the colorful display but didn't want to stress him out by asking for his photograph. I wonder how many other attendees were having their own "Summer of Love" that day?
Overall it was a rather small exhibit despite the advertising hype, but overall it was worth seeing given how befitting the theme was for San Francisco in particular. After my visit I hit up the Haight-Ashbury district for lunch, musing all the while on how in some ways, the psychedelic spirit of the '60s has left a lasting mark on the aesthetic, reputation and culture of the city ever since.
Thanks for reading!