A pinup of Claude Monet’s water lilies or Richard Ave- don’s Beatles portraits: The humble poster is often a per- son’s first brush with art. The poster’s popular appeal is communicated clearly in a playful exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery showcasing 60 paper prints from the museum’s collection.
“Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture” is devoted to the “boisterous hucksterism” and “roguish appeal” of the graphic art, as stated in the show’s introduction. Most of the works are concentrated on famous American faces from movies, music and sports.
Greeting visitors is a sultry Rita Hayworth pictured in the promo for the Italian version of the 1953 film “Trinidad.” By exhibit’s end, the advertising has been freed from the wall in a stand-up cutout of Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise.
Some of the pieces aren’t technically posters, but familiar print ads to push the celebrity theme. They include the Blackglama series “What becomes a legend most?” picturing Judy Garland, Shirley MacLaine and Bette Davis in mink coats.
Although far from being a definitive history of the poster, the exhibit addresses enough major developments within the art form to provide an evolutionary overview. It begins in the 1860s, when increasing urbanization led to a craze for street advertisements and the poster assumed its modern-day form.
American posters from this era were mostly busy affairs with attention-grabbing slogans crammed between images. Photographs, physical descriptions and reward money compete for space on the 1865 wanted poster for “The Murderer,” Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth, and his conspirators.
“It Talks! It Sings! It Laughs! It Plays Cornet Songs” blares from a 1878 woodcut-printed billboard promoting demonstrations of the phonograph developed by Thomas Edison. The inventor’s stiff likeness, reproduced from a studio portrait taken by the famous Civil War photographer Mathew Brady, plays second fiddle to the type.
Meanwhile, Europeans were turning posters into high art. Leading the pack was Jules Cheret, whose dynamic, vivid shapes were made possible through color lithography. The exhibit shows off his talent in a portrait of the American dancer Loie Fuller, known for her whirling performances in Paris.
By the 1890s, the Japanese-influenced style of Cheret’s French followers had spread to the New York art world, as shown in a book ad by William Sergeant Kendall and a calendar by Edward Penfield.
Promotions for mass entertainment soon adopted a similarly punchy style. A 1900 poster for “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s Wild West show simply superimposes a portrait of the showman over a charging buffalo above the short pronouncement, “I Am Coming.”
During the world wars, military recruiting posters became common, and several effective examples are part of the exhibit. New York artist James Montgomery Flagg turns out to have been the inventor of the celebrated “I Want You” image of Uncle Sam, which the artist based on his own face. Celebrities in uniform, including actor Clark Gable and heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, also appear on posters to entice the enlistment of whites and blacks during World War II, when the troops were still segregated.
Some of the catchiest posters are from Europe. They efficiently balance streamlined imagery with lettering so that the promotional message is conveyed in an instant.
Danish artist Sven Brasch pushes type to the four corners of a 1918 print focused on Charlie Chaplin, whose black-suited figure is treated as a broad stripe running up the center. Swiss designer Niklaus Troxler unifies lettering and image into a single whole by outlining the bearded profile of jazz musician Thelonious Monk in a rhythmic string of multicolored words.
Of the movie posters, the most magnetic are by Italian artist Anselmo Ballester. His illustration for “On the Waterfront” depicts a bloodied Marlon Brando in front of an angry mob. A menacing baling hook jutting into the foreground and red type suggest the danger lying ahead for the star and the viewer.
One of the strongest sections of the show concentrates on posters from the 1960s. The era’s most recognizable is Milton Glaser’s 1966 portrait of Bob Dylan for an album of greatest hits. Silhouetted in profile, the musician’s head is topped by long locks of rainbow-colored hair to symbolize his counterculture status. This poster anticipated later psychedelic prints blending dreamlike, surrealistic imagery, the vibrating colors and shapes of op art and sinuous curves of art nouveau, as demonstrated by several examples in the show.
Baby boomers will instantly recognize the style from the ads for impresario Bill Graham’s rock concerts at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium. Their sinuous, wavy lettering is nearly illegible but, as pointed out in the exhibit, it succeeded in making viewers stare longer to figure out the words.
Political campaign posters are another subgenre within the show, with both major parties represented. The one for 1964 Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater is dead simple, with a large black-and-white portrait of the bespectacled candidate framed in golden yellow. Artist Larry River’s rally announcement for 1972 Democratic presidential hopeful George McGovern is far busier with its crossed-out sketch of President Nixon and pinned-up puzzle pieces of states in red, a color now associated with Republicans. Neither strategy worked, given that both candidates lost, but the posters, like many in the show, have become collectors’ items.
Another failed presidential candidate, Henry Wallace of the Progressive Party, doesn’t even appear in his 1948 campaign poster. Instead, artist Ben Shahn portrays the other contenders in the race. A piano-playing Harry Truman is accompanied by Republican opponent Thomas Dewey, who reclines on top of the instrument in a pose borrowed from a photograph of Mr. Truman and actress Lauren Bacall. Arranged on the piano are pages of sheet music, each titled with a popular song, including “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “There Goes That Song Again.” As in the best posters on exhibit, the image communicates the message without the need for a lot of slogans.
WHAT: “Ballyhoo! Posters as Portraiture”
WHERE: National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F streets Northwest
WHEN: Through Feb. 8, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
ADMISSION: Free
PHONE: 202/633-1000
WEB SITE: www.npg.si.edu
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