Grateful Dead fans from around the globe are invited to San Francisco this summer and fall to witness Forever Grateful, a new art exhibit touted as one of the most comprehensive visual histories of the band ever assembled. The two-part display presents more than 400 artifacts from throughout the band\u2019s journey from 1965 to 1995 including instruments, posters, photographs, and perhaps most notably, Ken Kesey\u2018s famed Furthur bus, Jerry Garcia\u2018s BMW, and a 1:4 scale replica of the Dead\u2019s Wall of Sound PA system.<\/p>\n
Part one of the exhibit, currently on display at the Haight Street Art Center through September 20th, is driven by a vast collection of hundreds of historic artifacts. In addition to the Dead themselves, Forever Grateful will spotlight the work of the \u201cBig Five\u201d San Francisco poster artists whose work helped define the band and the psychedelic era: Wes Wilson, Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, Victor Moscoso, and Rick Griffin. <\/p>\n
A highlight of the show is the original 1900 drawing \u201cA Skeleton Amid Roses\u201d that inspired Kelley and Mouse\u2019s iconic \u201cBertha\u201d skeleton, used on a poster for the band\u2019s September 1966 shows at the Avalon Ballroom and later on the 1971 self-titled live album, commonly referred to as Skull & Roses. Due to the fragility of many of the items on display, objects will rotate throughout the show\u2019s run. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat originated here in the \u201960s and the resulting cultural shift felt across the world will never be forgotten,\u201d Jerry\u2019s daughter Trixie Garcia said in a statement. \u201cThere\u2019s nowhere like San Francisco and there\u2019s nothing like the Grateful Dead!\u201d <\/p>\n
A centerpiece of the Forever Grateful exhibit is a 1:4 scale replica of the Dead\u2019s iconic Wall of Sound. The fully functional replica designed by luthier Anthony Coscia recreates Owsley \u201cBear\u201d Stanley\u2018s groundbreaking audio design with 500 speakers powered by 9,000 watts. Visitors can feel the power of the Wall as multi-track recordings play through the system, recreating the concert experience that defined the Dead\u2019s live shows and revolutionized concert audio in the mid-1970s. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing that really set the Grateful Dead apart from everyone else was its sound,\u201d curator Ben Marks said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t merely a technical achievement\u2014the lack of distortion in the band\u2019s live sound allowed you to fully experience the music.\u201d<\/p>\n