Experimental Jetset Online Archive Lost Formats Links News About this site Contact	Hello Kilroy Kilroy Was Here / Hello Kitty Page 1 of 2				01. Before we get to the actual piece that we designed for this project, we first want to explain something about our main inspiration.   Shown here is a poster that we didn't design, but that is a part of our poster collection. It's a screenprint we bought a few years ago through E-Bay, depicting a typical 'Kilroy'. Drawn in 1971 by Jerry Berman, issued by the 'Kilroy Was Here Manufacturing Co.', and distributed by a company called 'Synergisms' (all based in San Francisco), the poster begs the question: how hippie can you get?   Kilroy is a fascinating phenomenon. During World War II, the line 'Kilroy Was Here' started to appear everywhere, often accompanied by the well-known drawing. Nobody is sure who the original Kilroy was, but it became a sport amongst soldiers to be the first to place this drawing wherever they arrived, claiming that 'Kilroy had already been there'.		The joke spread to the civilian world, and remained popular throughout the fifties. It was known all over the world: as 'Foo' in Australia, 'mr Chad' in Britain, and 'Overby' in Canada. During the 1960's, Kilroy remained an icon. By this time Kilroy's military dimension was replaced by an aura of counter culture.   There are countless conspiracy theories and urban myths surrounding Kilroy. Our favourite one takes place during the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. For the duration of this meeting, an outdoor toilet was built, for use exclusively by Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. The first of the three to utilize this facility was Stalin. When he came back, he asked the others, 'Just who is this Kilroy?' Once again, Kilroy had already been there.   Click on the image to continue.
(c) Experimental Jetset 97-06	Previous  / Back to Archive / Next						Original poster by Jerry Berman, Kilroy Was Here Manufacturing co.