Bruce Weatherhead's colourful and playful 1970s poster designs emerge out of the psychedelic era of the late 1960s, and stylistically they reflect this counter-culture era. They also reflect the influence of British and American psychedelic pop posters, and also the playful, humorous style of Swiss international post-modernism which boldly used form, colour, image and type to communicate ideas.

The poster is a rare surviving example of 1970s Australian poster art. It strengthens the Museum's poster collection as currently the strongest holdings are of screen printed community-based protest posters of the 1980s.

The poster relates to other objects in the collection - to the International and Australian design holdings generally, to objects documenting the emergence of retailers pushing European design into and Australia market, and to a poster Weatherhead designed for a Henry Talbot photography exhibition in 1968 (displayed in the Museum's 'In your face: contemporary graphic design' exhibition of 2006) - see 92/1256-1/12.

Poster designed by Bruce Weatherhead in Melbourne, Victoria during 1970-1971.

From the personal archive of the designer. This poster was used to promote Thesaurus, an inner-city design retail outlet in Melbourne, Victoria.

Poster, 'Thesaurus', paper, designed by Bruce Weatherhead, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1970-1971

Portrait format poster which features a brightly coloured street scape by night. Printed in black on one of the houses is 'Thesaurus'.

Designed: Weatherhead, Bruce; Melbourne, Victoria; 1970 - 1971

No marks. Design details, printed along edge of poster. Printed by Graphic Advertising, Paper by Shoalhaven Paper Mills.

2010/63/2

1970 - 1971

495 mm