Rick Griffin June 18, 1944 – August 18, 1991
“Although religious imagary was often incorporated in Rick Griffin’s early art, it came to the fore after his conversion to Christianity in the 1970’s. Much of the work shown here is from “The Gospel of John” produced for the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa.”
Love to know what the artist was thinking here. For some reason I’m imagining the man in the picture as Soren Kierkegaard, wrestling with the illogicality of Abraham’s sacrifice.
This picture is from an illustrated Gospel of John magazine that was made in the mid 1990s. I think the artist used to do album covers for a rock band.
Ahhh..Rick Griffin. Psychedelic artist who converted to Christianity in the 70’s. As an once obsessed fan with the Grateful Dead and other 60’s Bay area music, I knew I had heard that name before….
I happened across Rick because, as a southern Cali boy myself, I used to really be fascinated by the whole West Coast beach bum psychedelic surfer scene in the 60s and 70s. Griffin was responsible for some of the most powerful rock posters and album covers from this period, doing work for the Who, the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix among many others.
When he became a Christian in the 70s, Rick started doing album covers for Maranatha and comics with Christian themes like his retelling of the Gospel of John, which is where this image comes from.
Thanks all! Unfortunately, no higher-res or prints seem available, but thanks for the info, anyway. Gorgeous artwork. I wish amazon had copies of Rick’s Gospel of John.
Best thing to do is keep an eye on Ebay. Rick’s stuff shows up all the time. Getting a copy of the Gospel of John is going to be tough, however, because they are pretty rare and those who have them don’t usually want to part with them. But you never know what might happen if you keep a weather eye out.
There IS a (much) higher res image available -a limited edition 1980 large litho. I have one available.
Also, for any who would be interested in the original 1980 MARANATHA publication of the Rick Griffin (profusely) illustrated GOSPEL OF JOHN, I have a few of these (24 page, 8 1/2″x11″ soft cover) saved. -re. the large hand-pulled litho poster of the JESUS ON THE CROSS “Crucifix” artwork shown above (also 1980 from Maranatha Graphics): Extremely nice print on heavy canvas textured, coated stock. Image area is approx. 18″ tall by 17″ wide. These were printed in a limited single run -on a larger (26″ tall x 20″ wide) sheet. This one has been trimmed to approx. 1/2″ of white border all around the image area for framing.
I am an eBay seller and came across this page researching for my other (full 26×20 size) poster of the COVER image from the publication -w/ the words “I am the ressurection and the life JESUS CHRIST” in old book-stule, but Griffin lettering ~ which I will be listing there later today.
I know nothing about the rules of this site -probably shouldn’t (won’t) actually offer the poster -or the publication for sale here -and I don’t think putting my eMail address in this message for all the world to see is wise
…so: on eBay I am mm_rockpile. Anybody who has interest and wants to see the GOSPEL OF JOHN cover poster + book can view the listing there -OK to contact me through the eBay message system (contact seller LINK will be on the listing’s page) once at any of my pages- about the CRUCIFIX poster can do so there.
NOTE:
I will probably not know how to find my way back to THIS site again to check on responses HERE. I MIGHT succeed- I google-stumbled here this time; but can’t count on it.
If interested in either, check me (mm_rockpile) at eBay.
Our central lie is in the discrepancy between the language of worship and the actions of worship. We confess “Jesus is Lord” but only submit to the part of Christ’s authority that fits our grand personal designs, doesn’t cause pain, doesn’t disrupt the American dream, doesn’t draw us across ethnic and racial divisions, doesn’t add the pressure of too much guilt, doesn’t mean forgiving as we have been forgiven, doesn’t ask for more than a check to show compassion. We “sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” expressing our desire to know Jesus, but the Jesus we want to know is the sanitized Jesus that looks a lot like us when we think we are at our best. Despite God’s Word to the contrary, we think we can say that we love God and yet hate our neighbor, neglect the widow, forget the orphan, fail to visit the prisoner, ignore the oppressed. Its the sign of disordered love. When we do this, our worship becomes a lie to God. -Mark Labberton
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This is amazing. Where did it come from?
What is this and where can I get a higher resolution version of it? Or a print? Who is it by?
What an absolutely gorgeous artwork.
All I have is the URL sent me by a lurker. Maybe he can tell us more.
Artist is Rick Griffin.
Rick Griffin June 18, 1944 – August 18, 1991
“Although religious imagary was often incorporated in Rick Griffin’s early art, it came to the fore after his conversion to Christianity in the 1970’s. Much of the work shown here is from “The Gospel of John” produced for the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa.”
http://myraltis.co.uk/rickgriffin/galleries_christian.htm
Love to know what the artist was thinking here. For some reason I’m imagining the man in the picture as Soren Kierkegaard, wrestling with the illogicality of Abraham’s sacrifice.
This picture is from an illustrated Gospel of John magazine that was made in the mid 1990s. I think the artist used to do album covers for a rock band.
Ahhh..Rick Griffin. Psychedelic artist who converted to Christianity in the 70’s. As an once obsessed fan with the Grateful Dead and other 60’s Bay area music, I knew I had heard that name before….
Rick Griffin was an amazing graphic artist working in California in the 60s and 70s. Here’s his entry at Wikipedia, which will give you the bare bones about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Griffin. There are several good websites devoted to Rick as well. Here’s a couple:
http://www.christiancomicsinternational.org/griffin_pioneer.html
http://www.myraltis.co.uk/rickgriffin/index.htm
I happened across Rick because, as a southern Cali boy myself, I used to really be fascinated by the whole West Coast beach bum psychedelic surfer scene in the 60s and 70s. Griffin was responsible for some of the most powerful rock posters and album covers from this period, doing work for the Who, the Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix among many others.
When he became a Christian in the 70s, Rick started doing album covers for Maranatha and comics with Christian themes like his retelling of the Gospel of John, which is where this image comes from.
Thanks all! Unfortunately, no higher-res or prints seem available, but thanks for the info, anyway. Gorgeous artwork. I wish amazon had copies of Rick’s Gospel of John.
I can dig it.
Best thing to do is keep an eye on Ebay. Rick’s stuff shows up all the time. Getting a copy of the Gospel of John is going to be tough, however, because they are pretty rare and those who have them don’t usually want to part with them. But you never know what might happen if you keep a weather eye out.
Looks like Gospel of John is soon to be available on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-John-Gift-Book/dp/1597510815
There IS a (much) higher res image available -a limited edition 1980 large litho. I have one available.
Also, for any who would be interested in the original 1980 MARANATHA publication of the Rick Griffin (profusely) illustrated GOSPEL OF JOHN, I have a few of these (24 page, 8 1/2″x11″ soft cover) saved. -re. the large hand-pulled litho poster of the JESUS ON THE CROSS “Crucifix” artwork shown above (also 1980 from Maranatha Graphics): Extremely nice print on heavy canvas textured, coated stock. Image area is approx. 18″ tall by 17″ wide. These were printed in a limited single run -on a larger (26″ tall x 20″ wide) sheet. This one has been trimmed to approx. 1/2″ of white border all around the image area for framing.
I am an eBay seller and came across this page researching for my other (full 26×20 size) poster of the COVER image from the publication -w/ the words “I am the ressurection and the life JESUS CHRIST” in old book-stule, but Griffin lettering ~ which I will be listing there later today.
I know nothing about the rules of this site -probably shouldn’t (won’t) actually offer the poster -or the publication for sale here -and I don’t think putting my eMail address in this message for all the world to see is wise
…so: on eBay I am mm_rockpile. Anybody who has interest and wants to see the GOSPEL OF JOHN cover poster + book can view the listing there -OK to contact me through the eBay message system (contact seller LINK will be on the listing’s page) once at any of my pages- about the CRUCIFIX poster can do so there.
NOTE:
I will probably not know how to find my way back to THIS site again to check on responses HERE. I MIGHT succeed- I google-stumbled here this time; but can’t count on it.
If interested in either, check me (mm_rockpile) at eBay.
God bless!
Wasn’t sure about selling the “Crucifix”