Birth of the cool: posters from the Montreux jazz festival through the decades – in pictures
Since its inception in 1967, the Montreux jazz festival in Switzerland has hosted a dizzying array of musical talent from the world of jazz and beyond: Ella Fitzgerald, David Bowie and Miles Davis, and more recently Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Stormzy. The names behind its poster designs are equally illustrious, including Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Niki de Saint Phalle and Julian Opie; the latest, by London-based artist Lakwena, commemorates Nina Simone’s 1976 performance. “Artists are given full creative freedom,” says the festival’s CEO Mathieu Jaton. “The festival’s posters reflect the times and artistic trends in which they were created. They showcase the evolution of visual arts over the past 60 years: from photography and painting to purely graphic works.”