(Above) Iconic graphic designs from Roman Cieslewicz at the Royal College of Art
Exhibition: Roman Cieslewicz, Royal College of Art, London, until August 7 2010
Roman Cieslewicz would have been 80 in January if he was still alive, but the escalating popularity of the subversive poster art he pioneered means his work has probably never seemed more fashionable.
Born in Poland, Cieslewicz spent the 1950s and 1960s creating some of the most iconic film and cinema posters ever made, including the classic, nightmare-evoking banner for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo.
Hitchcock's Vertigo was given the Cieslewicz treatment
He was editor of Vogue and Elle in the late 1960s, having moved to Paris in 1963 (he became naturalized in 1971). He also put his trademark collage illustrations to work on books by the likes of Bruno Schultz and Anatole France, imbuing them with the same eerie sense of fantasy and surrealism his own pieces run wild with.
Andrzej Kilmowski, who has co-curated the show with David Crowley, the RCA's Jeff Willis and Anna Grabowska-Konwent of the National Museum in Poznan, believes the show introduces "a strong sense of drama not usually seen in graphic design."
Mrs Lacleur, from The Mysteries of Udolpho (1975)
"Cieslewicz's work was on a par with works of literature, cinema and theatre,” he suggests.
"He was an artist of stature, although he always referred to himself as a graphic designer and was strongly attracted to the ephemeral nature of graphic work designed for mass reproduction and mass consumption."
The show has been curated with the National Museum in Poznan, where many of Cieslewicz's most important works
are held
Most of the exhibits come from the Poznan centre, which holds the largest and most notable collection of his works internationally, and doctored collages of Che Guevara and the Mona Lisa stand alongside publicity material for the Centre George in Pompidou, where Cieslewicz used his Soviet avant-garde influences to design posters and catalogues in the late 1970s.
A treat for the imagination, the show also marks the culmination of Polska Year, the imaginative and well-received celebration of Polish culture in the UK which has taken art and performances from Cieslewicz's birthplace across the country this year.
Open 11am-7pm (closed Sunday). Admission free. Andrzej Klimowski and David Crowley lead a free tour of the show on Saturday (July 31 2010), 2pm-3pm.
Collage workshop for children (4-14-years-old) with George Wu and Sarah Gottlieb on August 4 2010, 2pm-4pm. Admission free, advance booking required. Email rsvp@polishculture.org.uk.
Keep up to date with Culture24's exhibition news, reviews and previews with iGoogle - a more personal way to use Google.com
