Poster

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Posters, in the form of placards and posted bills, have been used for a long time, primarily for advertising and announcements. Purely text posters have a long history: they advertised the plays of Shakespeare and made citizens aware of government proclamations for centuries. However, the great revolution in posters was the development of printing techniques that allowed for cheap mass production and printing, including notably the technique lithography which was invented in 1796 by the German Alois Senefelder. The invention of lithography was soon followed by chromolithography, which allowed for mass editions of posters illustrated in vibrant colors to be printed.

By the 1890s, the technique had spread throughout Europe. A number of noted artists created poster art in this period, foremost amongst them Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Jules Chéret. Chéret is considered to be the "father" of advertisement placards. He was a pencil artist and a scene decorator, who founded a small lithography office in Paris in 1866. He used striking characters, contrast and bright colors, and created over 1000 advertisements, primarily for exhibitions, theatres, and products.

Paris cabaret bills created by Toulouse-Lautrec in the late 19th century followed, and becamely widely famous for their style. Alphonse Mucha is another famous poster designer of this generation, known for his Art Nouveau style and stylized figures, particularly of women. Advertisement posters became a special type of graphic art in the modern age.

Many posters have had great artistic merit and have become extremely collectible. These include the posters advertising World's Fairs and Colonial Exhibitions.

Other times of great turmoil also produced great posters. The 1960s saw the rise of pop art and protest movements throughout the West; both made great use of posters. Perhaps the most acclaimed posters were those produced by French students during the so-called "événements" of May 1968.

[edit] Poster printing

Many printing techniques are used to produce posters. While most posters are mass-produced, posters may also be printed by hand or in limited editions. Most posters are printed on one side and left blank on the back, the better for affixing to a wall or other surface. Pin-up sized posters are usually printed on A3 Standard Silk paper in full colour.

[edit] Types of posters

[edit] Propaganda and political posters

During the First and Second World Wars, recruiting posters became extremely common, and many of them have persisted in the national consciousness, such as the "Uncle Sam Wants You" posters from the United States, or the "Loose Lips Sink Ships" posters that warned of foreign spies. Posters during wartime were also used for propaganda purposes, persuasion, and motivation, such as the famous Rosie the Riveter posters which exhorted women workers during World War II that "We can do it!"

[edit] Advertising posters

Many posters, particularly early posters, were used for advertising products. Posters continue to be used for this purpose, with posters advertising films, music (both concerts and recorded albums) and comic books being particularly notable examples.

[edit] Film posters

Main article: Movie poster

The film industry quickly discovered that vibrantly coloured posters were an easy way to sell their pictures. The collection of movie posters has become a major hobby.

[edit] Comic book posters

The resurgence of comic book popularity in the 1960s led to the mass production of comic book posters in the 1970s and onward. These posters typically feature popular characters in a variety of action poses. The fact that comic books are a niche market means that a given poster usually has a smaller printing run than other genres of poster. Therefore, older posters may be quite sought after by collectors. Promotional posters are usually distributed folded, whereas retail posters intended for home decoration are rolled.

[edit] Event posters

[edit] Boxing posters

Site Boxing Posters were used in and around the actual venue to advertise the forthcoming fight, date, ticket prices, and usually consisted of pictures of each boxer. Boxing Posters vary in size and vibrancy but are not usually smaller than say 18x22 inches. In the early days few boxing posters survived the actual event and thus they are indeed very collectible and scarce. Closed Circuit Posters and movie posters were produced in numerous quantities for worldwide theatre venues but are still collectible. Rare Muhammad Ali site Boxing Posters are the holy grail for any boxing poster collector.

[edit] Concert posters

Many concerts, particularly rock concerts, have custom-designed posters that are used for advertisement of the event.

[edit] Educational posters

[edit] Research posters and "poster sessions"

Posters are used in academia to promote and explain research work [1]. They are typically shown during conferences, either as a complement to a talk or scientific paper, or as a publication. They are reputed to be of lesser importance than actual articles. But they can be a good introduction to a new piece of research before the paper is published. Poster presentations are not always peer-reviewed, but can instead be submitted, meaning that as many as can fit will be accepted, as is the case at American Astronomical Society meetings.

[edit] Classroom posters

Most classrooms in North American schools have posters on the walls. There are several types of these posters:

• Motivational posters, similar to those found in offices or specific to the class subject matter.
• Quick reference posters: In elementary schools, these usually include first-language vocabulary charts (numbers, colours, weather, etc.) and multiplication tables. In secondary and post-secondary schools, they are more likely to include second-language vocabulary charts, the standard periodic table and related graphs, and laboratory safety protocols. A world map and one or more regional maps are common at all levels.
• Advertising posters for products used or discussed in the class (e.g. movie posters in a film class).
• Pseudo-advertising posters for sports, works of classic literature, etc.
• Posters giving more detailed information on a subject, usually containing paragraph-form text, in relatively small print.

The latter two types are sometimes prepared by students as part of an assignment, but most posters are usually store-bought.

[edit] Other

[edit] Cheesecake posters

Cheesecake posters, or "pinups," are pictures of attractive women designed to be displayed, first coming to popularity in the 1920s. The popularity of sexy Pin-up girl posters has been erratic in recent decades. Pin-ups such as Betty Grable and Jane Russell were highly popular with soldiers during World War II but much less so during the Vietnam War. The late 1970s and into the beginning of the 1980s were boom years for large posters of television actresses, especially Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Tiegs.

[edit] Fan poster

The goal of creating a Fanposter is to show all or a large portion of devoted fans on one poster which will be presented and can be seen in a place where many other fans or members have access (hallway of a club house, fanzine, fan webpage, public place).

[edit] Affirmation posters

This refers to decorative posters that are meant to be motivational and inspiration. One popular series has a black background, a scene from nature, and a word like "Leadership" or "Opportunity." One version (usually framed and matted) uses a two-image hologram which changes as the viewer walks past.

[edit] See also

• graphic design
• Illustrations
• four poster (Archaeology)
• four poster bed
• Street Poster Art

[edit] Further reading

• Gosling, Peter. (1999). Scientist's Guide to Poster Presentations. New York: Kluwer. ISBN 0306460769.
• King, Emily. (2003). A Century of Movie Posters: From Silent to Art House. Barron's. ISBN 0764155997.
• Noble, Ian. (2002). Up Against the Wall: International Poster Design. Mies, Switzerland: RotoVision. ISBN 2880465613.
• Timmers, Margaret. (2003). Power of the Poster. Victoria and Albert Museum. ISBN 0810966158.

[edit] External links

[edit] General

• An Introduction to Vintage Poster Art
• The International Poster Collection (exhibition galleries from the Colorado State Libraries and the Department of Art)
• Rene Wanner's Poster Page
• Posters, American Style (exhibition and educational site from the Smithsonian American Art Museum)

[edit] Film

• Classic Polish Film Posters : database, info, images

[edit] Political

• Powers of Persuasion: Poster Art from World War II
• WWI and WWII Poster Collection hosted by the University of North Texas Libraries' Digital Collections. Search and browse through almost 500 posters.
• University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections - War Posters A selection of World War I and II posters; topics include propaganda on purchasing war bonds, the importance of national security and posters from allied and axis powers.
• Museum of Russian and Soviet Posters
• The Chairman Smiles: Posters from the former Soviet Union, Cuba and China

[edit] Academic

• Creating Effective Poster Presentations (for research posters)

[edit] Other

• Far and Wide: The Golden Age of Travel Posters (from the Los Angeles Public Library)