The Weekend Leader - Poland's archival posters to be displayed in Delhi

Poland's archival posters to be displayed in Delhi

New Delhi

18-June-2019

An exhibition of archival posters from Poland's Poster Museum will open here for public on Wednesday.

Organised by the Polish Institute, "Between Art Deco and Modernism" at the India International Centre (IIC) here will recount the popular art of Polish posters during 1918-1939. 

Since late 19th and early 20th century, poster design has been recognised in the Polish artistic tradition as a source of national pride. The evolution, however, has been gradual and visitors will be able to spot different stylistic approaches.

In its early stages, posters executed in Poland and in surrounding countries were very similar and comparable in form.

Mariusz Knorowski, Chief Curator of the Poster Museum at Wilanow (Poland), says that during 1920s, when poster was getting defined as an independent art form, an interest in folk art patterns emerged, visible in figuration and vivid colouring. 

In 1930s, this use of native folklore as a source of innovation served to form a Polish national style -- resulting in visibly differentiated posters.

The art of Polish posters that combined image and text was also influenced by the outbreak of World War II.

The war suspended all stylistic development of the Polish poster, rupturing tradition and slowing creative development, explains Knorowski. 

"Post-war Poland exposed artists to increasing ideological pressure. Commercial advertising, once a mainstay for poster designers, was removed from all aspects of public life," he said in a statement.

In all, poster design was considered a driving force of artistic progress as it brought together architecture, painting and sculpture with artistic design.

Currently, the Poster Museum boasts of one of the largest poster collections in the world and is situated in the Wilanow Palace complex, the residence of King Jan III Sobieski. 

The Museum's archives hold over 62 thousand artistic, advertising and propaganda prints from all over the world, some of which will be on display here. 

The exhibition concludes June 28. IANS



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