Hugh Masekela
Artist
Milton Glaser
United States, 1929 - 2020
Date1972
MediumOffset Lithograph
Dimensions36 x 24 in. (91.4 x 61 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.5885
DescriptionKnown as the Father of South African Jazz, Hugh Masekela became an international sensation when his song “Grazing in the Grass” became a Billboard no. 1 hit in 1968. In this two-color poster (the brown is created by overlapping the red and the green), Milton Glaser fills Masekela’s body with a pattern that resembles traditional South African shweshwe fabric, offset against a stepped-line motif. The poster also features Baby Teeth Baroque, a rare variant of Glaser’s typeface, in which curved notches are used within the letters. This subtle graphic element was meant to echo Masekela’s smile. This image is repeated on the album cover for Masekela’s Introducing Hezoleh Soundz (1973), which you can see on the wall. In it, Glaser added the color yellow and zoomed in on Masekela’s face. When opened, the album cover reveals the musician’s full body. The inner gatefold and liner notes also incorporate the floral and geometric patterns and the unique typeface. On View
Not on view
