Aspen Wallposter #4 by Thomas W. Benton and Hunter S. Thompson
22" x 15"
1970
Benton and Hunter Thompson created the first Aspen wallposter in March 1970 as the official print organ of threw Aspen Liberation Front. Wallposter #1 proclaimed, "Politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum. We intend to fill that vacuum. We also intend to make some people wish that wolves had stolen them from their cradles. The only criteria for art and editorial content will be quality. Any nazi greedhead with the money to hire a good ghostwriter is welcome to submit his screed for publication. Dull and/or illiterate bullshit will be rejected out of hand. Our space is limited and we have no rewrite staff to cope with gibberish or garbled swill. We will make every effort, however, to publish any relevant, coherent and even outrageous counterpoint to our own clearly biased opinions."
The wallposters feature art by Benton on one side of the twenty-two-by-fifteen sheet and the political rants of Thompson on the reverse. The posters were distributed around Aspen to promote their Freak Power movement. The Wallposters became a local and national phenomenon after advertising for them appeared in Rolling Stone and Scanlans magazines. Production stopped shortly after Thompson lost the 1970 Pitkin County sheriff race. Embodying the ideals and beliefs of Thompson and Benton and other activists during this turbulent time, the posters capture a fascinating collaboration and an artistic experiment as pivotal points in the careers of these men. They illustrate the development of Thompsons Gonzo writing style and Bentons artistic ability, yet remain their rarest and most relatively unknown works. |