About the Artist:

John Van Hamersveld is an iconic American graphic artist and illustrator who designed record jackets for pop, rock, and psychedelic bands from the 1960’s onward. His first major project was creating the poster for Bruce Brown’s surf film, The Endless Summer, in 1966. Among the 300 albums he designed for Capitol Records are the covers of Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles, Exile on Main Street by the Rolling Stones, and many others for musicians including Kiss, the Grateful Dead, Blondie, and the Beach Boys, Van Hamersveld is a native of Southern California, growing up in Palos Verdes. He attended El Segundo High School and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2017. It was during this formative time in his life when his love of surfing began. He later combined this passion for the waves with his interest in art. Van Hamersveld attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena before his career exploded. During 1965-1968, he was hired as the art director at Capitol Records where he not only designed album covers, but also devised worldwide advertising campaigns to promote bands. He later went on to teach at CalArts in the 1980’s.

In addition to the film posters and album covers, Van Hamersveld designed the official poster and mural for the 1984 Olympic Games, the brand and logo for Fatburger, the 2009 Billabong Pipeline poster, and the Viva Vision “Signs of Life” Las Vegas Fremont experience. Most recently, Van Hamersveld continues to create and inspire with several public and private works including murals in San Pedro at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Hermosa Beach, and Manhattan Beach. 

About the Mural:

Legendary artist and El Segundo High School graduate, John Van Hamersveld, was the natural choice to design and implement the large-scale art project to improve the rusted and paint-peeled water tower at the west entrance to El Segundo. It had long been an eyesore to many residents and visitors when the idea to revitalize the water tower was proposed to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. This 360’ project was completed in 2018 and stands 32 feet high and 510 feet in circumference. It is made of 51 individual 10 foot by 32 foot mesh panels that optimize the visual appeal, but still allow air to pass through. As a solution to avoid the harmful impact of removing the paint, the panels were designed to attach by grommets inserted every 5 inches vertically at 10 foot intervals and then pulled tight and aligned with the adjoining panels using a giant frame. 

Paying homage to the surf culture, the work includes numerous pop art icons from throughout Van Hamersveld’s more than 50 year career. The mural is a combination of designs or images in pure colors without shading. It is designed as an abstraction with objects embedded within to produce an experience for the viewer as it encourages them to think deeper and to absorb the images while opening up their perspective. With the use of contrasting colors, the eye is drawn from one design or image to another to create an illusion and a three-dimensional effect. Van Hamersveld used his computer to create the project as he brought together individual components to build layers of color, shapes, and symbolism.

Other Public Murals in the South Bay by John Van Hamersveld:

Jack Crawford’s Eagle Scout Project:

Growing up making weekly trips to El Segundo to visit my grandparents, I was instantly captivated to see the bright, psychedelic Water Tank Mural by iconic artist John Van Hamersveld installed on the west entrance of the city in 2018. After investigation, I learned the work’s significance to public art and the South Bay surf culture and wanted to share this information with others.

For my Eagle Scout project, I planned to build a viewing station of the mural with benches and an informational sign across Grand Avenue from the mural. As I learned more about the mural, I was additionally inspired to embed a QR code on the sign that would link the viewer to a website that I designed to give additional information on the artist and the mural. 

It has been a pleasure working with Alida and John Van Hamersveld as well as Julie Todd, City of El Segundo librarian, and appreciate their help in helping me turn my ideas into a reality. Also, I would like to thank the City of El Segundo, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Boy Scout leaders and scouts from Troop 860, and my project mentor, John Holliday, for the support for my Eagle Scout project.

Visit John Van Hamersveld’s website: https://post-future.com/

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