BOB MASSE
Excerpt taken from the posted website and is believed to be accurate as of July 2023. Please contact us if you find errors.
Bob Masse is from Canada's west coast and has been producing concert posters since the 1960s.
While attending art school in Vancouver, British Columbia, he began his career doing posters for the folk acts that came through town, in exchange for free drinks, tickets, and the opportunity to meet the musicians.
As folk became folk-rock, and Vancouver was visited by such bands as the Grateful Dead, The Doors, the Jefferson Airplane and Steve Miller, Bob continued to produce memorable concert posters for these bands, and helped pioneer the emerging psychedelic art genre. He was greatly influenced by the art and music scenes in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where he spent considerable time in the late 1960s. Masse befriended the Vancouver band, the Collectors, and when they travelled to Los Angeles to make a record, he followed, spending the final years of the 1960s living in the Laurel Canyon area, producing posters and album covers for various bands of the day. His work from this time is highly sought by collectors.
Bob's designs reflect his interest in the art nouveau movement and the work of Alphonse Mucha in particular. While he employs many of the techniques of that period, his brilliant colour palette, unique lettering style, and bold composition give his art a signature look.
As rock concert art began to enjoy a surge in popularity duing the 90s, Masse returned to the medium with renewed force, producing a steady stream of posters for the first time since the 1970s.
Bob continues to produce pieces for contemporary performers.