A page from John Van Hamersveld book that shows him and The Endless Summer poster art

John Van Hamersveld (born September 1, 1941,

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland, United States) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

graphic artist and illustrator who designed record jackets for pop and psychedelic bands from the 1960s onward. Among the 300 albums are the covers of '' Magical Mystery Tour'' by the Beatles, '' Crown of Creation'' by

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

, '' Exile on Main Street'' by the Rolling Stones, and '' Hotter Than Hell'' by Kiss. His first major assignment, in 1963, was designing the poster for the surf film '' The Endless Summer'', after which he served as

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

' head of design from 1965 to 1968. During that time, he worked on the artwork for albums by Capitol artists such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys. He also oversaw the design of the psychedelic posters for the Pinnacle Shrine exposition.

The Endless Summer

In 1963, Van Hamersveld was hired by director and filmmaker Bruce Brown to design the iconic ''

Endless Summer Endless Summer or The Endless Summer may refer to: Places * Universal's Endless Summer Resort, twin hotels at the Universal Orlando Resort featuring surf and coastal-themed decor Film and television * ''The Endless Summer'', a 1966 documentary ...

'' movie poster using a photograph taken by Bob Bagley, general manager and camera man for Bruce Brown Films. In the staged photograph originally taken at Salt Creek, Brown is positioned in the foreground with his surfboard on his head and the movie's two stars, Robert August and Mike Hynson, between Brown and the setting sun. He had learned this technique at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where he took night classes, graduating later that year. He converted the photo into an abstract design by reducing each color to a single tone and giving each image a single, hard edge.

Other work

He designed an official poster and 360-foot-long mural for the

1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

; illustrations for ''

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'', '' Rolling Stone'', ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''; and branding and logos for Fatburger, Contempo Casuals, and Broadway Deli.

Later projects

In 1997 Van Hamersveld started his own line of products revisiting his work from 1964 to 1974, which he calls "Post-Future". With the printmaking of a fine art edition of the ''Endless Summer'' poster, he moved his design work into his Coolhous studio in Santa Monica and between analog and digital environments managed to create works such as the posters for the 2005 Cream reunion concert at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. In 2013 he celebrated 50 years in graphic design by producing a vinyl EP sleeve for Liverpool-based blues-rockers Sankofa, in addition to publishing the book ''John Van Hamersveld—Coolhaus Studio: 50 Years of Graphic Design''. He continued that line of work in 2014 with two more artworks for records by Asher Roth and the Gaslight Anthem. In April 2018 Van Hamersveld completed a mural on a storage tank near Grand Avenue in

El Segundo, California El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,731 as of th ...

. "El Segundo is where my career started, as a surfer and an artist," he told the '' Los Angeles Times''.

Album covers

Among his album covers are:

References

External links

John Van Hamersveld Website

Article --- "John Van Hamersveld" Swindle, Issue #05

Article --- "John Van Hamersveld" on The Giant: The Definitive Obey Giant Site

Press Release for recent show at Shepard Fairey's Gallery

AnaheimOC.org Surfing Podcast

the Rock And Roll Report "Making of the Cover for Exile on Main Street"
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Hamersveld, John 1941 births Album-cover and concert-poster artists Film poster artists Artists from California Living people Artists from Baltimore Psychedelic artists