Tag: Exhibition

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History

Sidney Strube Exhibition (25 November 2004-20 February 2005)

The first exhibition on the work of the political cartoonist, Sidney Strube (1891-1956) took place at the Political Cartoon Gallery, 32 Store Street, London WC1E 7BS, starting 25 November 2004. The exhibition coincided with the launch of the first ever Strube biography published by the Political Cartoon Society. Strube was the editorial cartoonist of the Daily Express between 1912 and 1948. During these years, he assisted in no small way to making the Daily Express the best selling national newspaper in the world. In 1931, on a salary of £10,000, Strube became the highest paid man in Fleet Street. In 1915, Strube enlisted in the Artists Rifles Battalion and served on the Western Front alongside other artists and writers such as Paul Nash and Wilfred Owen. He regularly sent cartoons for publication direct from the trenches. Strube’s greatest creation was the ‘Little Man’, which represented the man in the street, a figure of whom large sections of the population then identified with.

During the 1930s, Strube’s ridiculing of Hitler and Mussolini often led to the Daily Express being banned in Germany and Italy. Strube’s name, alongside many other prominent critics of Hitler’s regime, was discovered on a Nazi hit list after the war. What they have said of Strube: Winston Churchill: “In my opinion Strube is one of the greatest cartoonists the newspapers have had in this country for many, many years.” Stanley Baldwin: “Strube is a gentle genius, I don’t mind his attacks because he never hits below the belt.” Lord Beaverbrook: “I think Strube has a greater influence in public life than anybody.” Field Marshall Lord Kitchener: “Strube is a genius! And in this time of stress and sorrow his sense of humour and power of conveying it are invaluable.”

The Political Cartoon Gallery is open Monday to Friday 9am – 5.30pm and on Saturdays between 11am – 5.30pm. Phone Dr Tim Benson on 020 7580 1114 for further details or email him at info@politicalcartoon.co.uk

Categories
History

Philip Zec Exhibition: “Don’t Lose it again!” The war-time cartoons of Philip Zec (4 May – 8 August 2005)

Philip Zec was the greatest and most controversial cartoonist of the Second World War. He was the political cartoonist for the Daily Mirror between 1939 and 1946. This exhibition will include the originals of his two most famous cartoons, ‘The Price of Petrol’, which almost led to the Daily Mirror being banned by Prime Minister Winston Churchill when it was published in March 1942 and his memorable VE Day cartoon “Here it is, Don’t lose it again”. The latter cartoon being the most iconic cartoon of the Twentieth Century. The exhibition was accompanied by a biography of Zec, written by none other than his brother, Donald, who also worked for the Daily Mirror for many years as a journalist. The book contains one hundred and forty war-time Zec cartoons; the vast majority having not been seen since the day they were published in the paper.

The Political Cartoon Society Gallery is open Monday to Friday 9am – 5.30pm and on Saturdays between 11am – 5.30pm. Phone Dr Tim Benson on 020 7580 1114 for further details or email him at info@politicalcartoon.co.uk

Categories
History

Symbols & Stereotypes: National Identity in European Poster Design 1914-1945 (2001)

“The illustrative poster as we know it today has its origins in the technological innovations of the nineteenth century. The poster has continued to evolve as a means of communication, propaganda and persuasion; in recent times, it has been appropriated as a medium by artists such as Barbara Kruger and Michael Peel, who have used it to parody and subvert the messages of the advertising industry and the state.

The rise of the nation state coincided with the growth of mass society. Rivalry between states, combined with the need to preserve the international balance of power, intensified the economic, political and military competition between the European powers. The poster was increasingly used to define a national position which aimed at ‘creating patriotic feelings and explaining the real meaning of current events.’ Poster imagery appealed to a nation’s history, culture and religion, its past heroes and military prowess, and to God and His saints. Successive campaigns to promote recruitment, defence loans and charity organisations stimulated the nation’s commitment to conflict while at the same time attempting to raise national morale. However, the creation of patriotic feelings could not be achieved without the vilification of the foe. Perceived national and racial stereotypes were caricatured in ruthless attacks on the enemy’s moral shortcomings.

With the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914, the political poster became witness to the crises in society that continued until 1945. The poster tells us of our origins, underlines our sense of self-worth, promotes our aims and aspirations, refines our prejudices. Not always flatteringly, it holds up a mirror to ourselves.”

This was a small exhibition held at the Imperial War Museum in 2001, utilising images from many different countries, and both wars. It was interesting to see that there were four images from the ‘Your Britain’ series, demonstrating how “an inter-war travel poster style was used unchanged during the war to around patriotic feelings for an idealised pastoral Britain, defined by the landscape of Southern Britain”, were all Newbould’s images. I find the ‘Your Britain’ series the most interesting because Frank Newbould’s style is in such contrast to Abram Games’s style!

Held at: Imperial War Museum

Categories
History

Word & Image: Swiss Poster Design: 1955 – 1997

February 9 – April 3, 1998

Over sixty posters, as well as publications by 30 influential Swiss designers will be presented to explore the impact and influence of the International Typographic Style or Swiss Design on graphic design and visual communication. The Swiss Design style emphasized an overall clarity of composition created by an innovative combination of typography, photography and graphic elements in which the message became an integral part of the design and the designer an “objective conduit” of information to society.

Both the exhibition and accompanying catalogue will explore in-depth how the particular use of typography and photography have largely defined what is now known as Swiss Design. Represented in the show will be key works by such internationally recognized designers as Max Bill, Armin Hofman, Josef Muller-Brockmann, Bruno Monguzzi, Siegfried Odermatt, and Rosmarie Tissi. Drawn mostly from the extensive collection of Thomas Strong, partner in the graphic design firm Strong-Cohen, New Haven Connecticut, the exhibition is curated by Assistant Professor Franc Nunoo-Quarcoo, Department of Visual Arts, and Cynthia Wayne, Curator of Exhibitions, and will be accomplanied by an illustrated catalogue.

Visit site.

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History Reviewer

Posters: Persuasion and Subversion

V&A, 12th-13th June, 1998

The effectiveness of the poster as a publicity medium and the pervasiveness of the poster image were examined in the context of developments in 20th century graphic communication.

The conference examined the history of the poster from the ‘artistic’ posters of the late 19th century, to the large-scale billboard campaigns of the modern day, which are an inescapable feature of the modern landscape.

Margaret Timmers edited a great text “The Power of the Poster” to accompany the conference and exhibition.

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