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WARSAW
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WIZZ MAGAZINE
Posters photographed aroundWarsaw city
(clockwise) Poster for aMozart concert byWiesławRosocha,
Othello
by JanLenica, festival poster by
JanLenica, poster for AntonChekhov’s
ThreeSisters
playbyWiesławRosocha,
Lips
byHenrykTomaszewski,
CYRK
byMaciej Urbaniec,
Solidarity
by
Tomasz Sarnecki,
Labyrinth
by JanLenica, modernposter of Chopin in a sweatshirt byUnknown (middle)
I
t’sMondaymorning indowntown
WarsawandartistAnnaKaleta-Kunert
ismoppingupafteranexhibitionparty
from thenightbefore.
As the rain rattlesagainst thewindow
panes,Kaleta-Kunertbeginspreparing
the studio for theday’sbusiness. She
unfoldsanumberof art easelsanddis-
play racks, rehangsher favouritegraphic
prints, andunlocksa seriesof imposing
metallic storageunits.Twentydrawers
deep, they sit flushagainst thewall at the
backof thegalleryandarealmosthidden
fromview.Yet inside they storeanentire
century’sworthofpricelessart from
thePolishPosterSchool, amutediary
representingagoldeneraof expression-
ismandPopArt, examplesofwhichwill
goondisplayat theWarsaw International
PosterBiennale this summer.
“They’renot justposters, but a
catalogueofPolishhistory,” saysAnna,
strollingaround thegallery floor,
proudlydisplaying themostprized in
thecollection. Shepauses foramoment,
consideringoneofher favourites, an
off-setoriginal ofwhichonly1,000
wereevermade. Ithas startlinglybright
coloursandanamped-up typeface that
grabsourattention likeaklaxonblast.
If it could, itwould shout fromacross
the room. “Lookat it,” saysAnna. “It’sa
classic from the1960s.Thereare few left
in suchgoodconditionas this.”
Therearen’tmanyplaces likeGaleria
Grafiki i Plakatu inPoland, let alone the
world.TheWarsawgalleryhasmore than
8,000vintageposters in itsarchives,
with rarecollectors’ items frombefore
theSecondWorldWar, someofwhich
cost inexcessof€4,000. It is swamped
withworks from the likesofMieczysław
Wasilewski, JanMłodożeniec,Wiesław
Rosocha, JanLenica, LechMajewski,
MaciejUrbaniec, PiotrMłodożeniec;
names thathardly roll off the tongue
fornon-Polishspeakers, but theyare
nonetheless thevanGoghs, daVincis,
andPicassosof theposterworld. Some
printsare juxtapositionsof grizzlybears
indinner suitsorchimpanzeesonbicy-
cles; othershave farmore subversive,
avant-gardedesigns. Favourites include
facelessmen, gun-slingingHollywood
cowboysandpsychedelic screaming
mouths– thekindofprovocation that
oftencomeswithanover-18certificate.
In times like these,GaleriaGrafiki i
Plakatucanexpect tobepatronised.
Thecapital is set tohost the50th
anniversaryexhibitionof theWarsaw
International PosterBiennale this sum-
mer–aneventbilledas the largestposter
event inhistory–whichgivesPoles
achance to reconsider theart form’s
unlikelyheroes.
“Theartistsof thePolishSchool of
Postersdrewon ideas frombroader
visual arts–painting, drawing, illus-
tration, photography,” saysSławomir
Iwański, acontemporaryposterdesigner
andProfessorofGraphicDesignat the
AcademyofFineArts inLodz. “Indoing
so, they succeeded in re-evaluating the
natureof theposter.Theyopened itup to
the imaginationandcreativity.”
So familiarare someof thesepin-ups
to theircountrymen, in fact, that their
impact is sometimes forgotten.But
to theuninitiated, theirvastbodyof
work representsanartisticutopiawith
ahistoryas rivetingasanyColdWar
thriller.Datingback to theearly1890s,
theposterswereuniversallymadeby
hand, canvasand ink, bornoutof a long
traditionofPolish folkart.Thenalong
cameHenrykTomaszewski, probably the
greatestof all Polishmasters,whoused
special techniques learnt at theAcademy
ofFineArts inWarsaw.Whenasked to
designa filmadvert foraPolishdistribu-
tor, heagreedononecondition– thatno
onewould interferewithwhathecame
upwith.That changedeverything.
“They’renot
justposters,but
acatalogueof
Polishhistory”
