Polish Circus Posterfest!

So, if I wasn't so ignorant and self-taught in regards to design, I might have known how significant Polish poster art is. Instead, I just go to Internet University and slowly drag myself towards enlightenment. So check it:

The Society of Polish Applied Art, founded in 1902, opposed foreign influences and composed posters with traditional historic forms. These earliest posters revealed Polish folk art, and were characterized by decorative color patterns and a rhythmic flow of line. From the outset, critics in Paris , Vienna , and Munich recognized their distinctiveness. Their approach to design – lightness in conveying the subject, the free manner of associating theme and image – is shared by their successors a half-century later.

Between 1919 and 1939, Polish posters were enriched by a steady stream of progressive European art movements – Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Surrealism. The artists included not only applied graphic designers, but also printmakers, painters, architects, sculptors, and cinematographers. Warsaw became the noted center of poster art in Poland .

After World War II Polish society gradually began to regard poster design as an art form equal in importance to painting. On the one hand there were political propaganda posters drawn from the Soviet influence, and on the other were posters on cultural topics, particularly films as people flocked to the movies. Movie posters that evolved were unlike most in that a scene was rarely shown. Instead the artists tried to capture the essence of the film or use a visual metaphor to sum up the impression of it. This trend caught on and spread to other fields. Posters became an outlet for individual artistic expression.

The above is an excerpt from polishfilms.org, one of many good sites that discuss Polish poster art. polishposter.com also provides a very interesting history.

In any case, check these examples - all posters promoting the circus (or CYRK in Polish). They are absolutely outstanding. How awesome is it to have a poster with only four letters on it?


I only wish I could do work this awesome.

It's good to know Poland's good at something, isn't it? Just kidding Urs!