New York City

Today is the opening reception and portfolio signing of friend Luba Lukova’s exhibition Umbrellas, Social Justice & More at La MaMa La Galleria. The exhibition presents a wide range of work including an installation with Luba’s critically acclaimed Social Justice poster portfolio. The Health Coverage poster, which is a part of the collection, was recently in a prestigious exhibit during the Inauguration of President Obama in Washington, DC. The La MaMa show will also feature Lukova’s prints, original drawings and 3-d objects.

“Internationally recognized, New York based Luba Lukova is regarded as one of the most distinctive image-makers working today. Whether by using an economy of line, color, and text to pinpoint essential themes of the human condition or to succinctly illustrate social commentary, her work is undeniably powerful and thought provoking. A recent review in The Boston Globe observes: “Luba Lukova’s posters and illustrations have punch, and they are laced with such feeling that they often merit a second look. Her work doesn’t wrestle with the classic riddles of high art. It is, as graphic art should be, strong and pithy but its messages are not always simple.” (Cate McQuaid, When graphic art becomes high art)

Lukova has won many awards including Grand Prix Savignac at the International Poster Salon, Paris, France; the Golden Pencil Award at the One Club, New York; and Honor Laureate at the International Poster Exhibition in Fort Collins, CO. Solo exhibitions of her work have been held at UNESCO, Paris; DDD Gallery, Osaka, Japan; and The Art Institute of Boston. She has received commissions for her work from the The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Adobe Systems, Sony Music, and Harvard University. Her evocative theatre posters have graced numerous stage productions in the US and Europe. Lukova’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Library of Congress, Washington, DC; and Bibliotheque Nationale de France. In 2009 publisher Clay & Gold will release Speaking with Images, a new book about her art. Later this month she will also receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Lesley University.

Congratulations, Luba!

Images: six of the 12 posters from the Social Justice portfolio.

Worldwide…

The 27th of April is celebrated around the world every year as World Graphics Day (gatherings by designers, exhibitions, etc.)—it marks the birth date of the International Council of Graphic Design Associations (Icograda) in 1963, and it provides an opportunity to recognize communication design and the role our profession plays in today’s world. World Graphics Day was officially inaugurated in 1995 to help further Icograda’s goal of “contributing to greater understanding between people, and helping to build bridges where divides and inequities exist.”

Peace; poster designed in 1985 by venerable Canadian designers Chris Yaneff and Manfred Gotthans, and described by Chris as follows: “We designed the ‘Peace’ poster for the exhibition Images for Survival for the Shoshin Society, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first use of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. 135 poster designs were selected by leading Graphic Designers in North America and Japan. The joint exhibition of American and Japanese peace posters was shown first at the Hiroshima Museum of Modern Art and then later in Nagasaki Japan, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Ottawa Canada, Paris, and Moscow. The inspiration for the poster came from a photo my son took while in Nagasaki, Japan, where North American tourists are often greeted with a peace sign by the local young children, as Nagasaki was the target of the second atomic bomb. My associate Manfred Gotthans felt that children showing the peace sign might make an adorable travel poster, but wouldn’t drive home the fatal consequences if mankind doesn’t heed the plea for peace and nuclear disarmament. This is why we used a skeleton (an actual skeleton was photographed for the poster); we felt the poster needs no words. The message is a serious reminder and is comprehensible in any language.”

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania

I was happy to stumble across some excellent posters here by Joe Scorsone and Alice Druedling.

Above: Alternatives to War; Fate.

Frederick the Great (aka ‘der alte Fritz’)

This bit of obviated profundity is a direct quote (as relevant today as in days of yore) from the man often admired as one of the greatest tactical geniuses of all time (go figure), of whom the Austrian co-ruler Emperor Joseph II (aka Holy Roman Emperor, 1765-1790) wrote: “When the King of Prussia speaks on problems connected with the art of war, which he has studied intensively and on which he has read every conceivable book, then everything is taut, solid and uncommonly instructive. There are no circumlocutions, he gives factual and historical proof of the assertions he makes, for he is well versed in history… A genius and a man who talks admirably. But everything he says betrays the knave.”

Image: Bodies of Confederate soldiers, killed on 1 July 1863, collected near the McPherson woods, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; photographer: Timothy H. O’Sullivan, (1840-1882).

Prypiat, Ukraine

Haunting images taken several decades after the 26 April 1986 blast at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in what is today a radioactive ghost town in the “zone of alienation.” More images and their backstory here. (thanks for the link, Adrian)

I posted in December about my friend, former army officer (and poster artist) Lieutenant Oleg Veklenko, who was among thousands of reservists mobilized by the Chemical Defense army forces to “clean up” the remains of the reactor. In the disturbing days that followed (he was stationed at Chernobyl for two months), he took many photographs of the reactor and the people affected by radiation, capturing viewpoints not accessible to the international media at the time (especially hard-hit were those within 30 km of the plant).

The hard experiences learned from the Chernobyl incident formed a leitmotif of moral responsibility that became central to Oleg’s subsequent life (as an artist and teacher at the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts). In 1991 he organized an international poster exhibition entitled «4th Block» and every third year since, Kharkiv has been the site of the international triennial of the eco-poster, eco-graphics, and youth-oriented eco-projects. Exhibits “touch the most painful ecological problems; pollution of the environment, global warming, genetic engineering, etc.” View the «4th Block» web site (with a sampling of hundreds of works from previous triennial events) here.

Images shown above: Road sign for Prypiat (where the workers at the nuclear plant lived); Prypiat funfair, scheduled to open on 1 May (five days after the nuclear reactor’s melt-down); the hospital, where Reactor 4’s victims went for immediate treatment after the blast.

From Filip Spagnoli’s content-rich blog on Human Rights, here.

On this day in 1948 the Marshall Plan came into effect. Much of Europe was devastated with millions killed and wounded during World War II. Fighting had occurred throughout much of the continent, and sustained aerial bombardment meant that most major cities had been badly damaged, with industrial production especially hard-hit. Many of the continent’s greatest cities lay in ruins. The region’s economic structure was also ruined, and millions had been made homeless. Especially damaged was transportation infrastructure, as railways, bridges, and roads had all been heavily targeted by air strikes, while much merchant shipping had been sunk. Although most small towns and villages in Western Europe had not suffered as much damage, the destruction of transportation left them economically isolated. None of these problems could be easily remedied, as most nations engaged in the war had exhausted their treasuries in its execution.

The only major power whose infrastructure had not been significantly harmed in World War II was the United States (it had entered the war later than most European countries, and had only suffered limited damage to its own territory). American gold reserves were still intact as was its massive agricultural and manufacturing base, the country enjoying a robust economy. The war years had seen the fastest period of economic growth in the nation’s history, as American factories supported both its own war effort and that of its allies. After the war, these plants quickly retooled to produce consumer goods, and the scarcity of the war years was replaced by a boom in consumer spending. The long term health of the economy was dependent on trade, however, as continued prosperity would require markets to export these goods. The Marshall Plan aid would largely be used by the Europeans to buy manufactured goods and raw materials from the United States.

(Read more here).

Images: Marshall Plan poster (created by the Economic Cooperation Administration, an agency of the U.S. government, to sell the Marshall Plan in Europe—the blue and white flag between those of Germany and Italy is an incorrect iteration of the flag of the Free State of Trieste, a City state created by the United Nations Security Council in 1947); Burned out buildings in Hamburg after the bombing (taken in 1945 or 1946 by the UK government).

Around the world, and all across Canada…

Saturday April 4th is a global day of action against war. The date coincides with the 60th anniversary NATO summit in Strasbourg and is also the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous 1967 Beyond Vietnam speech at the Riverside Church in New York. The Canadian Peace Alliance and the Collectif Échec à la guerre are calling for pan-Canadian demonstrations on Saturday to demand an end to the NATO-led war.

(thanks Grace Warkentin, via cousin Boyd Reimer)

Boston, Massachusetts

The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees will be awarding Chaz Maviyane-Davies an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Commencement Ceremony, to be held on Saturday, May 30, 2009. In their words (to Chaz): “The Board of Trustees is proud to bestow upon you their highest honor in recognition of your achievements as an international graphic designer who highlights vital social issues. Your commitment to combatting rights abuses in Africa as well as striving to eliminate racial, gender, religious and political discrimination around the world make you a leader in your profession, as well as a role model for countless others. Your courage, character and dedication to these important issues show us the way to succeed as both professionals and citizens.”

I couldn’t agree more… congratulations, and well deserved my friend!

Above, a 2005 photo of Chaz in Breda, NL by Guy Schockaert (via Ahn Sang-Soo’s blog); a sampling of Chaz’s posters below.

Washington, D.C.

Another year goes by, and the world’s (now rapidly dwindling) ‘Superpower’ is still involved in ill-begotten warfaring in the cradle of civilization. When will it ever end… or will it never end?

Looking back to last year’s post (language warning still in effect)… here once again is ‘Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your SUV.’