This stunningly illustrated book examines the history of poster design and its relation to the arts and broader culture

The poster is a versatile marketing tool widely used from the 19th century to today for everything from political events to movies. A good poster has many layers, it goes beyond advertising and makes statements about style, history, fashion, and taste at the time. It is these layers that can turn a poster into a work of art. This book showcases 480 posters by more than 200 artists and designers and tells a comprehensive history of the poster. The book includes art nouveau, Bauhaus, pop art, and contemporary posters from preeminent artists such as Alphonse Mucha, Egon Schiele, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol and from noted designers ranging from Lucian Bernhard and A.M. Cassadre to Saul Bass, Tadanori Yokoo, and Stefan Sagmeister. The book also introduces many other leading poster designers whose names are less well-known. Contemporary advertisements for Calvin Klein, United Colors of Benetton, and Coachella are also explored. By tracing the history of the poster, this book shows social developments throughout the world and illuminates how art styles have changed over time.

About the Author:

Jurgen Doring is Head of the Department of Graphics and Posters at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, Germany.

Roy Lichtenstein’s masterful Pop Art posters from 1962 to 1997 are showcased in this collection of 68 full-color reproductions.

Lichtenstein’s art is most recognizable for its trademark benday dots and two-dimensional planes, cartoonlike qualities that placed him at the forefront of the American Pop Art scene. With its emphasis on consumer culture, Lichtenstein’s style lent itself easily to the poster genre. This volume opens with his earliest poster, designed for his first exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1962, and closes with his last, which he completed the year of his death. An additional section features reproductions from the Claus von Olden collection and includes posters and flyers that were produced all over the world using Lichtenstein’s iconic motifs. The works reflect Lichtenstein’s prolific imagination and ability to adapt his vision to the promotion of music and film festivals, theatrical performances, museums, restaurants, and public service messages as well as his own exhibitions. An essay discusses Lichtenstein’s development as an artist who blurred the boundaries between lowbrow and highbrow art.

Posters from the late 19th century to Robert Indiana's poster designs for Barack Obama tell the story of protest. Contemporary events seen through the eyes of 20th-century artists show a passion for freedom and human rights and demand equality and tolerance.

L'imagination au pouvoir was a slogan devised by artist Pierre Aléchinsky during the May 1968 student riots in Paris. The particular appeal of political posters for avant-garde artists comes from their dual inspiration of utopian ideals and Jive history. The postwar period, when Picasso's unassuming dove image was commandeered by the Communist peace movement, was succeeded by the general willful resistance of the younger generation in the 1960s. In 1968, many supported the students' demands and produced political posters. In the 1970s, the focus turned to freedom for minorities, and this was followed not much later by environmental pollution a great concern of artists such as Joseph Beuys. In the mid-80s, the AIDS scare turned eyes on to discrimination and social marginalisation; and the concept of equality resurfaced, especially in the work of American artists such as Keith Haring and Jenny Holtzer. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, followed by globalization, was reflected in posters by Robert Rauschenberg and others.

This story of international protest movements, narrated through vivid designs by the great artists of our day, is also a story of the art of the period a selective view, perhaps, but nonetheless an expression of astonishing continuity and authenticity.

In addition the publication includes among others works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Jons, Antoni Tàpies, Joan Miró and Roy Lichtenstein.

Bursting with colour and featuring Keith Haring’s powerful messages, this collection of posters includes insightful commentary and dazzling reproductions

Whether Keith Haring was raising awareness of the AIDS epidemic and apartheid or celebrating life, music, and dance, his signature illustrations became part of the cultural landscape of the 1980s. Posters were central to Haring’s oeuvre and the perfect medium for his inclusive, accessible, and figurative style. Author Jurgen Doring offers fascinating insights into Haring’s work, providing commentary on each of the exquisitely reproduced posters. Important reference work and a vibrant celebration of a world-renowned artist, this book will delight Haring’s many fans throughout the world.