Randy Tuten > Backstage

Randy Tuten is the only poster artist whose work spans five decades of design for The Fillmore. The 23 year-old San Francisco native was hired by Bill Graham in January, 1969, and their mutual taste for traditional, readable design style led to a lon...more

Randy Tuten is the only poster artist whose work spans five decades of design for The Fillmore. The 23 year-old San Francisco native was hired by Bill Graham in January, 1969, and their mutual taste for traditional, readable design style led to a long-lasting work relationship. Although influenced by the compositions of "Fillmore Five" artists Mouse, Kelley and Griffin, Tuten avoided "... Heavy meaning in my posters." He worked his own interests in ships, trains and classic automobiles into his early art to create posters that were "... A combination of what I like and what fit." Tuten's style reflected his skill as a draftsman, and his designs evolved into an eclectic mix of graphic imagery, lettering and photographs. Felled by a stroke in 1984, Tuten returned to design in 1986 with the encouragement of Rick Griffin, and his posters are among the most desirable examples of rock art history....less