Paul M. Foster (November 7, 1934 – June 23, 2003) was a Merry Prankster best known for illustrating the book ''

Kesey's Garage Sale ''Kesey's Garage Sale'' is a collection of essays and other writings by Ken Kesey, published in 1973.Review: ''Kesey's Garage Sale'' by Ken Kesey. ''American Humor'' 1 (1): 19–20 (1974) The book features the play "Over the Border" which is based ...

''. He was a founding member of

Wavy Gravy Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. (born May 15, 1936), known as Wavy Gravy, is an American entertainer and peace activism, activist best known for his role at Woodstock, as well as for his hippie persona and counterculture of the 1960s, countercultural be ...

Hog Farm The Hog Farm is an organization considered America's longest running hippie commune. Beginning as a collective in North Hollywood, California, during the 1960s, a later move to an actual hog farm in Tujunga, California gave the group its na ...

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

. Foster was a mathematical genius and became a computer programmer "in the days of wooden transistors" as he would say. He was programming in binary code since 1954, when computers were as big as a room. In 1964 he sponsored a music club in San Jose, The Offstage. He hired the future members of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, Paul Kantner, Jorma Kaukonen, Jerry Garcia, Odetta, Jessie Fuller. He also liked to draw and created handbills for the music events, some of the very first artworks that would become the music poster scene of the 60's. Through the musicians, Paul met Neal Cassidy and then

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Kesey was born in ...

. He gave up computing to join Kesey and the Pranksters, living in a tree house in

La Honda La Honda (Spanish for "The Sling") is a census-designated place (CDP) in southern San Mateo County, California, United States. The population was 979 at the 2020 census. It is located in the Santa Cruz Mountains between the Santa Clara Valley an ...

. He was the artist who drew the Acid Test Posters, as well as the Acid Test diploma. The Acid Test Poster has been attributed Norman Hartweg, but this itself is a prank. When the Acid Tests ended, Foster went to India overland with several companions. When he returned, he looked up Hugh Romney, aka

, and was invited to take care of a pig farm outside Sunland Tujunga in Los Angeles; this was the beginning of the Hog Farm commune. In 1968, the Hog Farm painted their own bus, the Road Hog, and took a caravan with a light show, geodesic dome, and a band on a trip across America promoting

happening A happening is a performance, event, or situation art, usually as performance art. The term was first used by Allan Kaprow during the 1950s to describe a range of art-related events. History Origins Allan Kaprow first coined the term "happen ...

s. In the summer of 1969, the Hog Farm was asked to help with security and a free kitchen for

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

. Foster made signs before the event and helped in the freak out tent. After further travels with the Hog Farm, Foster went to

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

where he worked with Ken Kesey and Ken Babbs to produce the book ''

''. Foster eventually returned to programming and to Cupertino in the heart of Silicon Valley. He worked for NASA as well as Apple Computers before retiring to live near his daughter in Northern California. He self-published the book, ''The Answer is Always Yes'' and always kept a journal of drawings and clever sayings. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2003 after filling in the last page of his journal, suggesting that we forget the Alamo and seek love.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Paul American comics writers 2003 deaths 1934 births Place of birth missing