Martin (THE MAN) Sharp

Martin Sharp
(born 1944)

Regarded as this country's most prominent Pop artist, Martin Sharp has made significant contributions to Australian culture since the early 6Os, with his posters and record covers in particular receiving international recognition.
Sharp an artist, underground cartoonist, songwriter and film-maker.His famous psychedelic posters of Bob Dylan, Donovan and others rank as classics of the genre, alongside the work of Rick Griffin, Hapshash and the Coloured Coat and Milton Glaser. His covers, cartoons and illustrations were a central feature of Oz magazine, both in Australia and in London. Sharp was educated at Cranbrook private school, where one of his teachers was the noted artist Justin O'Brien. In 1960 Martin enrolled at the National Art School at East Sydney, where began his artistic career, contributing to the shortlived student magazine The Arty Wild Oat, along with fellow artists Garry Shead and John Firth Smith. He also began submitting cartoons to The Bulletin. In 1961 he enrolled for two terms in Architecture at Sydney University before returning to the NAS.
He also co-wrote one of Cream's most famous songs, "Tales of Brave Ulysses", and in the 1970s he became a champion of singer Tiny Tim, and of Sydney's embattled Luna Park.