Polish Posters

As I work in a museum, I get introduced to a lot of cool art that I might not otherwise have come across. One of our board members collects Polish film and theatre posters from around 1920-1970 and he donates a big batch each year.

These posters represent a remarkable and relatively unknown art form that deserves some recognition. Rather than simply slapping together a movie still and some text (obviously I'm generalizing here), these artists produced something that can be considered a work of art in its own right. Playful and often moving, some of the trademarks of these posters include a dynamic style, bright colors and unusual compositions. Each artist has their own unique style, which is what makes these posters so special.

The prices, for the most part, are pretty reasonable as well.
The best resource on the web seems to be PolishPoster.com...if anyone's interested I will report back once my purchase goes through.

Some of my current favorites:

La Village Magique, by Jan Mlodozeniec



Gra, by Jan Mlodozeniec



Parasol, by Franciszek Starowieyski



Iwan Grozny, by Franciszek Starowieyski



Kobiety by Maria Ihnatowicz



Stories About Lenin, by Jan Lenica



Desire, by Jerzy Flisak



My all time favorite is this superfantastic Arcimbaldo-esque Casanova: Childhood and Adolescence poster by Marek Mosinski... which will hopefully be up in my apartment very soon.