Date: 1973
Size: 23 x 33 inches
Artist: Jan Sawka
About the poster: Starting in the mid-1960s Wroclaw became a center for Poland's theatrical and artistic avant-garde. Teatr STU was one of the most significant experimental theater groups in the country, and legendary figures Tadeusz Kantor and Andrzej Wajda honed their directing skills there. For STU's production of Exodus, Sawka, a young art student, created this metaphorical image. Several years later he moved to New York, where his practice developed to include set designs on budgets from one hundred to nearly four million dollars, for musicians such as the Grateful Dead and Steve Winwood. (Source: Moma)
About Polish Poster: Beginning in the 1950s and through the 1980s, the Polish School of Posters combined the aesthetics of painting with the succinctness and simple metaphor of the poster. It developed characteristics such as painterly gesture, linear quality, and vibrant colors, as well as a sense of individual personality, humor, and fantasy. It was in this way that the polish poster was able to make the distinction between designer and artist less apparent.
Polish posters have come to stand apart from the advertising design conventions fostered in Europe during the 20th century. It was during the communist regime, a time when culture was closely monitored by the state, that Polish artists found liberation in poster art. Ironically, this foremost public art form became ground for individual expression. During that period, the cultural institutions, of theatre and cinema especially, flourished as they were funded by government agencies. Artists freshly out of the fine arts academy flocked towards poster production as the demand for this art was rapidly growing. The result became some of the most unique and expressive posters the world has ever seen - and artworks in themselves.
The poster is in good condition. Ready to frame !