1994 Original Dutch Exhibition Poster, U-ABC (The 100 Best Posters Collection)

Date: 1994
Size: 57 x 39 inches 

Artist: Anton Beeke

Printer: Toppan Printing Co.

About The 100 Best Posters Collection: This poster was originally created by Anton Beeke in 1989 for the Stedelijk Museum. This is an official reissue from 1994 from the collection The 100 best posters from Europe and the United States / 1945-1990.

"In describing the rationale behind this portfolio, Hiromichi Fujita, the President of Toppan Printing Co., explains in the introduction that, "the decision to publish The 100 Best Posters from Europe and the United States 1945-1990 was motivated by our earlier collection of Japanese reproductions published four years ago . . . the first collection was intended as a small contribution to the field of graphic design, which has enjoyed an inseparable relationship with the printing industry for many years now." The selection of posters in this collection were chosen by a panel consisting of Steven Heller, Alain Weill, Milton Glaser and Yusaku Kamekura. All posters chosen (...) were reproduced and were then donated to art museums and related educational institutions in 200 locations around the world. In addition to being forms of expression, these posters, which were created in the diverse social conditions that have prevailed since the end of World War II, truly serve as a testament to the age in which they were produced." (Source: swanngalleries.com)

About the poster: For this exhibition of young artists from four South American countries, Anthon Beeke eschewed the usual clichés and created a poster that was also a political statement. As he explains, "The U of Uruguay has been filled in with the feathers and mourning colors of the Indians who ... are being massacred. 
The A for Argentina is filled with fragments of the most virulent cacti I could find... [They] are the symbol of the tactility of that country, the evilness of it, in fact.
The B for Brazil is filled with meat. ... In Brazil a great deal is sacrificed for the economic needs of a handful of large landowners... and someone who doesn't agree with this— and there are quite a few-is an obstacle standing in the way of their profit....
The C of Chile is filled with human hair. Over the centuries the cutting of hair has always been a hobby of types that thought they were right."
Even though this poster appears very South American in its colors and picturesque quality, it is in fact a political plea-which in no way detracts from its graphic force. (Source: The 100 best posters from Europe and the United States / 1945-1990, p.212)

This poster is in good condition and ready to be framed.