‘‘We’re not trying to make it a trip down memory lane or a groovy trip for baby boomers,” said curator Patrick Murphy. ‘‘(The works) fit into the large collection of posters we have dating back to Toulouse-Lautrec. It’s an installation of ’60s prints.”

    It’s easy for Murphy to say. He was born in 1969, two years after the Summer of Love.

    For those old enough to remember the days of flower power and social unrest, ‘‘Light My Fire” will undoubtedly be a nostalgia-fest. Lacking personal memories, members of later generations - such as this writer - have the opportunity to view that era’s artwork without rose-colored hippie glasses and ask the pertinent question: How do these posters hold up today?

    ‘‘Light My Fire” contains approximately two dozen posters created to advertise concerts at San Francisco’s Avalon Ballroom and Fillmore Auditorium in 1967 and 1968. They feature splashy colors and swirling, often illegible, typography that announces appearances by the Doors, Buffalo Springfield and others.

    The exhibit is displayed on two walls of the MFA’s Hemicycle. Three-quarters of the gallery is dedicated to posters by Victor Moscoso.His posters feel redundant in the limited space: Text fills the negative space surrounding central images such as a flower-adorned nude or the head of a sphinx. The screaming colors - bright tangerines, candy greens, vibrant blues - eventually prove to be a strain on the eyes.

    The exhibit’s second wall is more varied and less visually taxing. Moscoso’s Quicksilver Messenger Service poster best exemplifies his use of text as a graphic element, with concert information printed on the body of a peacock, giving its colorful body texture and shape.

    At the front of the exhibit, a Gibson Les Paul electric guitar reminds visitors that ‘‘Light My Fire” is as much about the music as the graphic art it spawned. Because music cannot be piped into the Hemicycle, Murphy, despite his anti-nostalgia protestations, created an iTunes playlist oftracks by Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead and more. Visitors are encouraged to download the songs pre-arrival and listen while viewing.

    With Joplin’s throaty wails and the Byrds’ chiming guitars providing the soundtrack, ‘‘Light My Fire” takes on a new dimension. The music adds atmosphere andserves as a reminder of why these posters exist.

    The tunes also create a sense of nostalgia, even for someone too young to have experienced the Summer of Love. ‘‘Light My Fire” may not be intended as a trip back in time, but in the end, that may be the best thing about it.