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Polish poster art in post-war Germany

Jan Lenica, Wozzeck, 1964

Mediathek Sorted

Media library
  • ill. 1: Wojciech Fangor, Czarna Carmen (Carmen Jones), 1959  - One of the approximately 180 posters that could be seen in Munich in 1962: Wojciech Fangor, Czarna Carmen (Carmen Jones), 1959
  • ill. 2: Józef Mroszczak, Student żebrak(The begging student), 1961  - Also present at the Munich exhibition: Józef Mroszczak, Student żebrak (The begging student), 1961
  • ill. 3: Henryk Tomaszewski, Henry Moore, 1959  - A poster was also shown in Munich in 1962, which became one of the most famous examples of Polish poster art: Henryk Tomaszewski, Henry Moore, 1959
  • ill. 4: Cultural posters in Poland - Cultural posters were ubiquitous in Poland - at least this is how a Western audience was often suggested by two photographs from Józef Mroszczak, Polish poster art, Vienna and Düsseldorf 1962, without a poster.
  • ill. 5: Exhibitions of Polish poster art in the FRG 1964-1966, overview - Exhibitions of Polish poster art in the FRG 1964-1966, overview
  • ill. 6: View of the exhibition "Masterpieces of Polish Poster Art" - View of the exhibition "Masterpieces of Polish Poster Art". Exhibition "Masterpieces of Polish Poster Art", Darmstadt,  Henschel & Ropertz department store, October 1964
  • ill. 7: View of the exhibition "Masterpieces of Polish Poster Art" - Exhibition "Masterpieces of Polish Poster Art", Darmstadt, department store Henschel&Ropertz, October 1964
  • ill. 8: Henryk Tomaszewski, 22 Lipca (22. July), 1960  - Henryk Tomaszewski, 22 Lipca (22. July), 1960
  • ill. 9: Photo. V. Zamecznik, Józef Mroszczak - Photograph. V. Zamecznik, Józef Mroszczak, 1962
  • ill. 10: Józef Mroszczak, Don Carlos, 1963  - Józef Mroszczak, Don Carlos, 1963
  • ill. 11: Photo. W. Zamecznik, Roman Cieślewicz, 1962  - Photograph. W. Zamecznik, Roman Cieślewicz, 1962
  • ill. 12: Roman Cieślewicz, Zawrót głowy (Vertigo), 1963  - Roman Cieślewicz, Zawrót głowy (Vertigo), 1963
  • ill. 13: Jan Lenica, 1962 - Jan Lenica, 1962
  • ill. 14: Jan Lenica, Wozzeck, 1964  - Jan Lenica, Wozzeck, 1964 

  • ill. 15: Jan Lenica, Faust, 1964  - Jan Lenica, Faust, 1964
  • ill. 16: Jan Lenica, Othello, 1968  - Jan Lenica, Othello, 1968
  • ill. 17: Jan Lenica, Olympic Games Munich 1972  - Jan Lenica, Olympic Games Munich 1972
  • ill. 18: Monthly Bulletin Poland, edition FRG, 1961, no. 12 - Monthly Bulletin Poland, edition FRG, 1961, no. 12
  • ill. 19: Franciszek Starowieyski, Gombrowicz: Operetka, 1977  - Franciszek Starowieyski, Gombrowicz: Operetka, 1977
  • ill. 20: Franciszek Starowieyski, Samuel Zborowskii, J. Słowacki, 1980 - Franciszek Starowieyski, Samuel Zborowskii, J. Słowacki, 1980
  • ill. 21: A postage stamp for the United Nations International Year of Peace 1986  - Deutsche Bundespost, a postage stamp for the United Nations International Year of Peace 1986, design Jan Lenica
  • ill. 22: Tomasz Sarnecki, Solidarność - Tomasz Sarnecki, Solidarność. W samo poludnie (Solidarność. Twelve o' clock noon), 1989
  • ill. 23: Magazine "Jenseits der Oder" ("Beyond the Oder")  - The magazine "Jenseits der Oder" was published by the German Society for Cultural and Eco-nomic Exchange with Poland. Given the background of the Bonn border reservation, the maga-zine's title was a political provocation.
  • ill. 24: Jan Lenica, Wizyta starszej pani (The Visit), 1958  - Jan Lenica, Wizyta starszej pani (The Visit), 1958
  • ill. 25: Leszek Hołdanowicz, Pasażerka, 1963 - Leszek Hołdanowicz, Pasażerka, 1963
  • ill. 26: Leszek Hołdanowicz, Bariera, 1966 - Leszek Hołdanowicz, Bariera, 1966
  • ill. 27: First International Poster Biennale Warsaw, 1966  - First International Poster Biennale Warsaw, 1966
Jan Lenica, Wozzeck, 1964
Jan Lenica, Wozzeck, 1964

"Fresh, aggressive, funny and intellectually challenging." Polish poster art in post-war Germany


1. Hymnic

Contemporary, fresh, modern and aggressive, witty and intellectually challenging", "boldly experimental", "avant-garde", "mentally stimulating and exciting" and completely free of "banality and kitsch": these were the words with which Erich Pfeiffer-Belli, the art critic on the Süddeutsche Zeitung, praised an exhibition of Polish poster art in March 1962, which was on show at the time in the Neue Sammlung in Munich.[1] (Fig. 1-3)

Pfeiffer-Belli's enthusiastic review was no exception. Rather, it was typical of practically all the public reactions to the exhibitions of Polish poster art in what was then West Germany. Exhibitions of Polish posters were a recipe for success. Those who organised them could be sure of a positive, if not hymnic, echo from the press. Their success was no accident. The high artistic level of Polish commercial graphics was recognized internationally. Polish poster art in particular was considered to be a leader in the field. It was a flagship of Polish art and enjoyed a legendary reputation in Germany. Significantly, it was unreservedly granted the status of an art form here , on a level with non-applied, free art and equally worthy of being presented in museums. This status simultaneously enhanced the value of commercial art in the Federal Republic of Germany.

West German critics praised the Polish posters for their "profound wit", their "sparkling zest" for irony, their "intellectually challenging" and "wonderfully disrespectful" treatment of historical styles and symbols. They praised their versatility, artistic boldness and experimental joy, at times their "drastic daring" and at others, their "Polish charm".[2] Some reviewers were close to singing hymns of praise to the planned socialist economy, because, as the director of the Neue Sammlung München Hans Eckstein put it laconically, "There, businessmen do not make posters".[3] Hence it was possible for commercial graphic artists to design their posters free of the constraints of the market and commerce. The fact that Polish poster art, even in the Stalinist era in the early 1950s, had been able to exploit creative freedoms that were at that time denied to non-applied art under the doctrine of socialist realism, made it additionally interesting.

 

[1] Erich Pfeiffer-Belli, “Plakate aus Polen. Eine Übersicht in der Münchner Neuen Sammlung“, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 27.03.1962, p. 12. The review was of the exhibition, "Plakate aus Polen", in the Munich Neue Sammlung, 22.3.-29.4.1962

[2] Quotations taken from the SZ, 27.03.1962, p. 12; FAZ, 10.11.1965, p. 9; FAZ, 28.2.1966, p. 11

[3] Hans Eckstein, “Vorwort”, in: Plakate aus Polen (exhibition catalogue), München, Die Neue Sammlung, 1962