Warsaw, Poland
Neon signs, made using electrified, luminous tube lights containing rarefied gases, were introduced in December, 1910 by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show. Claude’s associate, Jacques Fonseque, subsequently realized the possibilities for a business based on signage and advertising—by 1913 a large sign for the vermouth Cinzano illuminated the night sky in Paris, and by 1919 the entrance to the Paris Opera was adorned with neon tube lighting.
A decade later, in 1929, the first neon sign in Poland went up in Warsaw. Popular from the start, the earliest neon signs were made to order—free in design, shape, and color, and significantly influencing other forms of advertising like poster design and typography. Designed and built by prominent architects, graphic designers, and artists, and overseen by a chief graphic designer in the state-run company Reklama, Polish neon signage was renowned for its outstanding technical and artistic qualities.
A new book, Polish Cold War Neon, tells the fascinating story of neon in Poland by preserving and celebrating the remnants of this rich and influential history. During its peak, Reklama maintained over 1,000 neon signs, whose playfulness and folly stood out in dark and oppressed Poland, ornamenting otherwise drab cities and towns. The book offers stunning photographs by British photographer Ilona Karwińska, along with archival images, original neon designs, and interviews with their designers to reveal the untold story of Polish neon.
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Washington, DC
Created in the mid-1930s in response to the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration and its Federal Arts Project were focused in part on providing artwork for public buildings while assisting struggling artists. Artists were tasked with creating posters that promoted the landscapes and wildlife of America’s parks. The program ended in 1943, and the largest collection of WPA-era prints—including the images shown above—is now in the U.S. Library of Congress, (link).
I’d posted about WPA posters earlier, here. (story source, thanks to Peggy Cady)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Catrin Welz Stein is a German graphic designer and freelance illustrator now living in KL. She draws on a wide varieties of inspiration including fantasy, folklore, medieval history, surrealism, and Jugendstil in compiling her digital collages. “Because of my children (4 and 6 years old) I can go through childhood again and I can enjoy the world of fantasy and fairy tails. I like to look at childrens’ books and let them inspire me…”
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“Gather ’round the Yule-log fire while we spin the fantastic fable of the man who hates the holiday the whole world loves—and seeks to stop its celebration by striking at Santa himself! He is greedy Jasper Rasper—but he reckons without the Man of Tomorrow, who guarantees that there will always be a Christmas despite… The Man Who Hated Christmas.”
Read the whole comic book online, here.
Wolfsburg, Germany
The Volkswagen Type 2, officially known as the Transporter or Kombi (short for Kombinationskraftwagen) and informally as the Bus (US), Camper (UK), Bulli, Kleinbus, microbus, minibus, and sometimes even hippie van, was a panel van introduced in 1950 by German automaker Volkswagen as its second model, following and initially deriving from VW’s first model, the Type 1 (Beetle).
Some 61 years after its introduction, the Type 2 is still to be seen everywhere (and is still manufactured in Brazil, where last month the 1.5-millionth unit rolled out of the factory). Perhaps it’s because I have many friends with them and that I myself have owned a few (including Bettie Blue, a Type 3 now safely tucked away for the winter) that I seem to encounter these perpetually iconic charmers everywhere I look (both on the roads and throughout popular culture)… thanks to climber friend Gerald Brandt for some of the links/sources of the images shown above (click on images for links to articles and more images).
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Madrid, Spain
On a tour of Central de Diseño / Mataduro Madrid these two posters caught my eye. The original was designed by Franz Krausz in 1936 and issued by the Tourist Development Association of Palestine. The updated version (below, 2009 I believe) and featuring the Israeli West Bank barrier needs no explanation… I couldn’t fine a designer credit on the serigraph.
Any questions?
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…for some new glasses and a Movember moustache…
Porbandar, India
Today is the birthday of the great Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), now celebrated around the world as the International Day of Non-Violence.
Although I have not been able to find verification that the “Seven Dangers to Human Virtue” attributed to him were actually stated by him (this could, admittedly, be an Internet meme—the airwaves are filled with chatter about him), from what I know of the man, they seem to fit with his character and worldview.
The illustration is from a Russian postage stamp issued in 1969 in honour of Gandhi’s 100th birthday (illustrator unknown, copyright free through Wikimedia Commons).
