Mr Tambourine Man

In his poster of Bob Dylan, Martin Sharp draws on high- and low-art references to achieve the distinctive visual vocabulary that went on to define the countercultural  milieu of late 1960s London. Sharp had honed his style while working as an illustrator for irreverent and anti-establishment publications in Sydney, including the infamous OZ magazine. In London Sharp became immersed in the music scene and within a few short years he had designed  posters for musicians and bands, including Donovan, Cream and Jimmy Hendrix.

Sharp’s poster of Dylan featured on the seventh cover of OZ magazine, which Sharp had established in London with fellow Australian Richard Neville. The inspiration for Sharp’s composition came from his visit to Angkor Thom in 1966, where he visited the ancient Cambodian temple of Bayon. Using a photograph of Dylan by Eugene Smith as the basis for his poster, Sharp embellished Dylan’s hair to form a halo of concentric circles. The title of Dylan’s song ‘Mr tambourine man’ creates a pedestal for the face. Sharp, who was an ardent Dylan fan, found an immediate audience for his poster, with sales of 100,000 copies between 1967 and 1970.