Reading the Rick Griffin article gave me an understanding of just how much surfing was connecting different areas of culture together. Rick Griffin began his career by creating Murphy, a comic strip for Surfer magazine. He appeared on the August/September 1962 issue and was instantly considered the poster child for the magazine. His cartoon, Murphy, really connected with the youth. Although, he was getting a lot of praise for what he was doing and was becoming really popular within the surfing community, he realized that he needed more in life. He was constantly jealous of his rock star friend, who once played bass for the Belairs. He began to feel burned out and out of his frustration, he hitchhiked his way up the Pacific Coast Highway. During this time, Griffin suffered a horrible accident leaving the left side of his face disfigured. Since he was unable to surf and confined in his home, he began to change his art style. John Severson suggested he attend art college to polish his style.
In 1966, Griffin attended the Acid Test. This inspired him to create more psychedelic art to mimic that of an acid experience. Attending art college in LA really helped his work get noticed by bands and eventually he was asked to create posters for dance concerts at Avalon Ballroom. He created posters for rock heavyweights like Jimi Hendrix, Quicksilver Messenger Service and The Doors. His posters connected music, surfing, and art.
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