Visual art / Music / Civil rights & activism
Gary Grimshaw
1946–2014 · graphic artist, rock poster designer, light-show artist
Lincoln Park–raised poster artist who designed the Grande Ballroom's very first poster in 1966 and gave Detroit's rock revolution its psychedelic look.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 67- Detroit years
- 1946–1968, 1970s–1990, 2004–2014
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Grimshaw was born in Detroit and grew up in Downriver Lincoln Park, where his high school best friend was Rob Derminer, the future Rob Tyner of the MC5, and Wayne Kramer was another pal. After a short stay at Wayne State University and a Navy hitch that took him to San Francisco's Fillmore and Avalon ballrooms, he came home in 1966. Russ Gibb hired him to run light shows at the new Grande Ballroom, and he designed its first poster, for the October 7, 1966, opening with the MC5. With Carl Lundgren he defined the Grande's poster art and worked for the MC5, the Detroit Artists Workshop, Trans-Love Energies and the White Panther Party. His poster for the December 1971 John Sinclair Freedom Rally in Ann Arbor, with John Lennon and Stevie Wonder, is one of the era's icons. He was associate art director of Creem from 1976 to 1984, later made posters for the White Stripes and the Dirtbombs, and returned to Detroit for good in 2004.
Highlights
- Designed the first Grande Ballroom poster (October 7, 1966)
- Poster for the John Sinclair Freedom Rally (1971)
- Associate art director of Creem (1976–1984)
- Named among Michigan's 100 greatest artists and entertainers of the century by the Detroit Free Press (1999)
- Cover art for Iggy Pop's Instinct (1988)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1966–1968
Grande Ballroom
Closed · 1928–1972
He ran light shows here and designed the ballroom's first poster for its October 7, 1966, rock opening. The building stands empty.
Related place · 1971
Crisler Arena
Site of the December 10, 1971, John Sinclair Freedom Rally, whose famous poster he designed.
Studied here · early 1960s
Wayne State University
He attended briefly after high school.