Poster House, the first museum in the United States dedicated to the global history of posters, will present its two main exhibitions for the spring season.
Es-pranza Humphrey, Curator of Black Power to Black People; Erin Schoneveld and Nozomi Naoi, Curators of Made in Japan; and Angelina Lippert, Chief Curator and Director of Content at Poster House will be available for interviews.
Black Power to Black People: Branding the Black Panther Party (March 2, 2023 – September 10, 2023) features 37 works dating from 1932 to 1980, that chronicle how the Black Panther Party (BPP), one of the most influential militant groups of the 1960s civil rights movement, devised a specific graphic language to reclaim Black humanity and decommodify Black life. The exhibit includes heroic images of party members, printed materials like The Black Panther newspaper, and political campaign posters. The BPP branded a new movement from Harlem to Hollywood that relied heavily on the use of bold language, striking graphics, and powerful photographs of its members wearing black-leather jackets and carrying exposed firearms. The BPP’s posters were important for the dissemination of information to the public, widely sharing radical images and slogans that captured a shift in tone in the fight for civil rights. Artists whose posters are exhibited include Emory Douglas, Dorothy Hayes, and Danny Lyon, among others.
Made in Japan: 20th-Century Poster Art (March 2, 2023 – September 10, 2023) features 73 works that highlight the cultural and political shifts within modern Japan that influenced the messaging of its iconic advertising and promotional posters. The exhibition showcases posters throughout the twentieth century, beginning with the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, with images designed to inspire patriotism, circulate propaganda, and encourage consumer restraint in support of the war effort. As Japanese corporations became global brands following World War II, Japanese artists conceived new forms of graphic media that mixed aspects of traditional Japanese aesthetics with Western design idioms. The exhibit also highlights how Japanese designers began to address social issues through their art at the end of the twentieth century, such as climate change and global peace. The exhibit will include works by artists such as Yusuka Kamekaru, Ikko Tanaka, and Tadanori Yokoo, among others.
Both exhibitions come to Poster House through a generous loan from the Merrill C. Berman Collection.
In addition to the main exhibitions, two mini-exhibitions are currently on view until April 16, 2023 – With My Little Eye: Warnings for the Homefront, curated by Tim Medland, and Schoolgirls at War: French Propaganda Posters from World War I.
On April 27, 2023, two new mini-exhibitions will open to the public for the spring season – Advertising Type: Women in Digital Design and The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Typefaces from Emigre & FUSE, both curated by Angelina Lippert.
Photo credit: 1-2) Black Panther. 3) Japan. Poster House.
Become a Harlem Insider!
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: . You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
