Renaissance & Rebellion - Flipbook - Page 205
John Van Hamersveld: The Pinnacle of West Coast Pop
World renowned for his consequential Pop and album art, including the iconic poster for the
Gary Wong: Mysterious In昀氀uence of Esoteric Illuminations
A mysterious figure influencing West Coast Postmodernism and surf/skate/rock culture from
film The Endless Summer, John Van Hamersveld was also a pioneer in concert event promotion as a
the mid-1960s through to today, Gary Wong studied at the Chouinard Art Institute under Emerson
co-founder of Pinnacle Dance Concerts in 1967, which has direct lineage to today’s Live Nation.
Woelffer and Matsumi Kanemitsu. Deeply immersed in art history, anti war activism, ancient mystic
While still attending the Chouinard Art Institute, Van Hamersveld founded Pinnacle
Dance Concerts with his roommates Marc Chase and Sepp Donahower, securing exclusive rights
to book the Shrine Auditorium in Downtown Los Angeles. While his friends, including Gary
texts and modern literature, Wong translates and transcends these written words and his own stories into
layers and brush work that both obscures and illuminates the original meanings.
Born in Downtown Los Angeles, Wong grew up between San Pedro and Central Avenues.
Wong, booked bands and performed other production duties, Van Hamersveld also created most
On Sundays, competing choir groups combined with local mariachi bands, forming Wong's aural
of the promotional posters for the shows, which included the Los Angeles debut of the Grateful
sensibilities. While only in 9th grade, he began traveling by the old Red Line street car to Venice to listen
Dead, Pinnacle’s first foray into concert promotion in November, 1967. These posters have all
to jazz. Too young to get inside the clubs, he'd stand outside listening to the music and hanging out with
become hall of fame classics of the L.A. hippie scene, not only boosting the careers of the likes of
other, often older, beatniks. One night outside the Gas House he read words scrawled by Wallace Berman
Rick Griffin, but also much later, Shepard Fairey, who credits Van Hamersveld’s Hendrix poster
on the venue's wall: “Art is God is Love.”
as a primary influence on his OBEY brand.
Pinnacle Dance Concerts introduced Southern California to acts such as Jimi Hendrix, The
After winning numerous grants and awards as a child and teen and graduating high school,
Wong attended Los Angeles City College before being accepted at the Chouinard Art Institute,
Cream, The Who, Pink Floyd, Blue Cheer, Big Brother and the Holding Company, The Grateful
which he felt was “the center of the universe for art and psychedelia.” Already a champion of beat
Dead and the Velvet Underground. Other rock acts booked into the Shrine by Pinnacle included
and esoteric art forms, Wong became a thought leader at Chouinard, holding court with icons
The Jefferson Airplane, The Jeff Beck Group, The Steve Miller Band, Traffic, The Doors and
of West Coast Postmodernism like Terry Allen, Mary Corse, Rick Griffin, Ron Cooper, the Jook
Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. Van Hamersveld’s good friend, fellow painter Gary Wong, himself
Savages, Allen Ruppersberg, Ed Ruscha and John Van Hamersveld.
a blues musician, was tasked with master of ceremony duties as well as booking R&B acts like
Junior Wells, BB King and others.
In 1970, Pinnacle Dance Concerts became Pacific Presentations, later absorbed by
With Wong's encouragement, Van Hamersveld formed Pinnacle Dance Concerts with Marc Chase
and Sepp Donahower. From 1967-‘68, Pinnacle held exclusive rights to book the Shrine Auditorium
in Downtown Los Angeles. Wong was the master of ceremonies, announcing all the concerts including
Ticketmaster which itself merged with Live Nation 40 years later, becoming mega-concert
legendary concerts with Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and others, as well as Pinnacle's debut as a concert
promotion company, Live Nation Entertainment. The bands who played Pinnacle Dance
promotion company: the first Los Angeles appearance of the Grateful Dead, with Buffalo Springfield and
Concert events went on to become some of the most culturally significant forces in modern pop
Blue Cheer opening. Along with his MC duties for Pinnacle, Wong also booked the R&B acts like Sly &
culture, while both Ticketmaster and later Live Nation changed the face of concert promotion.
The Family Stone, Ike & Tina Turner and others.
After Pinnacle transitioned to Pacific Presentations, Van Hamersveld maintained his
Wong continued his musical career as “Charlie Chan,” in various blues bands, also playing with
friendships with many of the musicians who played the Shrine Auditorium during the
Los Savages, the band started by Dave Tourjé and Ian Espinoza, while also painting daily in his studio.
formative years of psychedelic music and pop art. He continued to create rock posters and
Colorblind from birth, Wong developed a monochromatic style that incorporated Xerox with overlays of
album covers in his unique style.
black paint and ink. The scratched words in his series of Los Angeles historical events and figures evolved
into his large-scale brush text abstractions. These formed the foundation of group shows and skate collabs
–Lisa Derrick
with the California Locos, as well as his 2019 brick and mortar solo show at Lisa Derrick Fine Arts and
the first virtual show at Eastern Projects in 2020.
–Lisa Derrick
