Summer of Love at the Whitney

As the 40th anniversary of the 1967's Summer of Love comes to a close, so does the exhibit at the Whitney Museum, "Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era." Next weekend is the last chance to catch it; it folds up September 16.

On Saturday, a long line of people waited to buy tickets. (Buy 'em online, folks.) The crowd looked a little different than a typical New York museum crowd. The people younger than 30 wore funkier clothes, perhaps aspiring to the hippie spirit. Among the not-to-be-trusted crowd (over 30), I overheard parents telling their kids "this was my era". Real message: see, I once was cool.

H. and I had the advantage of our personal tour guide. G. knows everything about the era, about the history behind the underground publications, the story behind the album covers and the names of the bit players in the Warhol scene. G. pointed out the influential magazines Oz, IT and the East Village Other.

A wall of poster art for upcoming concerts mainly in San Francisco, London and New York featured the trendy but hard-to-read popular font and a slew of 60s bands. In the exhibit's corners there were light shows in darkened rooms that required a different state of mind to enjoy as they were meant to be enjoyed.