This Year in September movie poster by Jiří Balcar, 1963.
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Czech artist Jiří Balcar could easily belong to one of the most fascinating poster designers of the Sixties. It’s hard to judge by the small number of his posters in our collection, but his artwork as we are finding out, spreads all across the globe (short list bellow). Internationally started off at Farleigh Dickinson University in Madison (New Jersey) where he took part in International Invitational Seminar of Art, followed by exhibition in New York in 19643 , Berlin (1965-66) and Wien (1966). Paris exhibition in Musée d’Art Moderne (1969) was held soon after his early death in 1968.
A wide spectrum of his artistic experiments are brought in from the painting and are reflected in his poster designs. Extensive use of letter templates, sometimes broken into separate parts, wise and bright selection of colours (unless Monochromatic, or sensible mix of both), unconventional use of photography and perfect understanding of space. His faceless figures, motif reappearing on several of his paintings, could become alive only on the film poster.
We have prepared another Poster Sale to make our film poster collection accessible to anyone as passionate about the art from Czechoslovakia as we are. Please take advantage of our Poster Sales to get your hands on some of the best designs in the history of poster art. Enter the coupon –
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Sweet Bird of Youth movie poster by Vladimír Bidlo, 1962.
19th of October 1926, Kouřim, Czech Republic
1997, Prague, Czech Republic
Education:
1945−1950, State Graphic School, Prague
1945−1950, Charles University, Prague (Faculty of Pedagogy / Art?)
1945−1950, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (prof. F. Tichý)
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Sixties poster design brought in many interesting artists coming also from other art disciplines. Czech illustrator, graphic and poster artist Vladimír Bidlo is certainly one of them. His adventurous repertoire of film posters starts somewhere in the beginning of 1960s and extends to the mid 1970s. Vladimír Bidlo’s film posters are proving his incredible talent for drawing and illustration (The Appaloosa, below). He also falls for photography and mix the two delicately as can be seen on his earlier film posters.
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That Man in Istanbul movie poster by Vladimír Bidlo, 1967.
Viva Maria movie poster by Vladimír Bidlo, 1967.
The Firemen’s Ball movie poster by Vladimír Bidlo, 1967/1988.
The Appaloosa movie poster by Vladimír Bidlo, 1970.
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We believe poster design for Miloš Forman’s The Firemen’s Ball had to resonate together with the film on its premiere in Cannes 1968, poster depicts the film perfectly. Too controversial for the Communists, film was banned and reappeared again by the end of the 1980s, same for the poster. Film posters created for majority of banned films were designed by the most appealing artists of the time. It is hard to tell if designing of film posters for censored movies had any effect on their future art profession. Vladimír Bidlo’s main focus laid on book illustration and after producing several dozens of excellent film posters he fully returned to that.
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My Wife’s Affair movie poster by Vladimír Bidlo, 1972.
Art Editor / Book Illustration / Graphic Art / Typography
Book cover design, colour letterpress, Robert Brož, 1970 *
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– b. 10th of August 1939, Prague-Čelákovice, Czech Republic
Education:
– 1954−1958, School of Industrial Art, Bratislava
Exhibitions:
– Biennale Brno 1966, 1970 and later
– Bratislava, Prague, Sofia, 1968
– BIB, Biennale of Book Illustration, Bratislava 1969, 1971 and later
– IBA Leipzig, 1971
– Biennale Warsaw 1971, 1975
– Barcelona, Berlin 1973
Awards:
– Diploma, International exhibition of young poster designers, Sofia, 1968
– Merit Award, IBA Leipzig, 1971
– Merit Award, The most beautiful book of the Year, Bratislava, 1972 and 1977
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Excellent typography – Pilgrimage to San Jago, Robert Brož, 1973.
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Robert Brož’s appearance in Czechoslovak film poster archive is rather rarity, even though designing posters was one of his main profession. As a typographer and graphic designer he has created numerous number of book covers (Bronze Medal, IBA Lepzig, 1971), posters and specialised in creating ex libris for collectors. He was also editor and graphic designer of Slovak publishing house Osveta.
We only know of one single film poster Robert Brož has ever designed. It was created for children’s tale Pilgrimage to San Jago (unofficial title) and done very much in what you would call Brussel style. Common design resonating pretty much in everything made in late Sixties Czechoslovakia (precious times swept away by shady 1970’s propaganda).
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Bratislava City Gallery / Galéria Mesta Bratislavy, logo design, Robert Brož, 1971.**
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Finding out Robert Brož’s name on majority of books published for Slovak photographer Martin Martinček made us nicely surprised. Martin Martinček’s photography is hugely admired by us and we thought you might like to see more examples of Robert Brož’s design. As he was not exactly movie poster designer, we still believe in his importance in Czechoslovak graphic art and are adding his name to our Sixties designers list.
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Martin Martinček / Cradle – photography book cover, Robert Brož, 1972.***
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We will be coming back to Martin Martinček in later individual posts on photography, where we’ll try to show a glimpse of his excellent work and maybe we’ll even reveal some of his unseen prints from our collection of photographs.
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Martin Martinček / Highlanders – photography book design, Robert Brož, 1975.****
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Note: this showcase is part of our ongoing article Film posters / Made in Czechoslovakia. The story of film posters.
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Resources:
Literature:
II. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno ’66, Medzinárodní Výstava Knižní Grafiky a Ilustrace, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 2nd Biennale of Graphic Design Brno ’66, The International Exhibition of Book Graphics and Illustrations, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1966
IV. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1970, Medzinárodní Přehlídka Plakátu a Propagační Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 4th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1970, The International Exhibition of Poster and Promotional Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1970
V. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1972, Medzinárodní Výstava Ilustrace a Knižní Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 5th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1972, The International Exhibition of Illustrations and Book Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1972
VII. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1976, Mezinárodní výstava ilustrace a knižní grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 7th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1976, The International Exhibition of Illustrations and Book Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1976
IX. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1980, Medzinárodní Výstava Ilustrace a Knižní Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 9th Biennale of Graphic Design 1980, The International Exhibition of Illustrations and Book Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1980
* Collective authors: Stretnutie / Meetings, Martin 1970. Book cover, colour letterpress. V. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1972, Medzinárodní Výstava Ilustrace a Knižní Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 5th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1972, The International Exhibition of Illustrations and Book Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1972 (p.55)
** logo – Martin Martinček – Exhibition Catalogue, Hora a horské bystriny / Mountain and mountain stream (unofficial translation). Galéria Mesta Bratislavy / Bratislava City Gallery, 1971
*** book cover – Martin Martinček – Milan Rúfus, Kolíska / Cradle (unofficial translation). Osveta, Banská Bystrica, 1972.
**** book cover, book design – Martin Martinček, Vrchári / Highlanders (unofficial translation). Osveta, Martin, 1975
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Book Illustration / Caricature / Film Animation / Painting
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Jan Brychta’s poster design for movie adaptation of Karel Čapek’s novel, 1964.
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11th of May 1928, Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
14th of November 2013, London (?), United Kingdom
lived in London exile since 1968
Education:
State Graphic School, Prague (Zdeněk Balaš, Josef Vodrážka)
1945 – 19.., Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (Josef Kaplický, Antonín Pelc)
Exhibitions:
from late 1950s until 1968 mostly Prague exhibitions
Surrealism Unlimited 1968 – 1978, Camden Arts Centre, London 1978
Awards for Film Animation:
The main prize in the category of animated films, Oberhausen 1966
The prize of the union of cinema owners, Oberhausen 1966
Grand Prix “Bronze Caesar”, Tours 1966
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In 1968 Jan Brychta vanished off the face of the earth and that is the fact. Russian occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 brought in many immediate changes within the state. Political trials were about to return back to fashion and not everyone was waiting for the resume. Or at least Jan Brychta did not.
It would be hard to say what made such a successful artist leave his homeland, as Jan Brychta’s art was everywhere and available to everyone in all possible forms. From beautifully illustrated books, film animations to caricatures in daily newspaper and television graphics / adverts. Simply put 1960s daily life was somehow incomplete without Jan Brychta.
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Five Minutes to Seven movie poster by Jan Brychta, 1965.
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It is fascinating to watch how with short step in time and history someone so publicly pleasing can become persona non grata. Researching many years later it really looks that party members did a great job. There was no Jan Brychta after 1968 in Czechoslovakia and same for his wife Lída Brychtová (artist and book illustrator) as they managed to escape the country together with their children Edita and Aleš.
Through out his Czechoslovak career as a daily caricaturist, film animator and pioneer of television graphics Jan Brychta was never far away from the movie poster. His rapid illustration and excellent story telling could be easily applied to the discipline. As a surreal artist and two dimensional painter use of a collage and illustration was a natural choice. His portfolio ends with his disappearance in late 1960s. Jan Brychta’s posters are absolute pleasure to look at and it is real pity it does not contain more than ten movie posters. The master of many techniques with only one common goal which was to keep everyone amused.
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Our Household, third volume of the annual guide for modern family illustrated by Jan Brychta, 1963.
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British audience could recognise Jan Brychta’s illustration thanks to BBC children’s television series Jackanory.
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Television graphics by Jan Brychta, Adolf Born and other pioneers of 1960s TV visuals.
Krátky Film, Praha / Short Film, Prague. Archive of Jan Brychta’s 1960s animated films.
Images used:
Collective authors: Záznamník – Naše Domácnost 3 / Family Guide Jotter – Our Household Vol.3. Obchodní Tiskárny, Praha, 1963. Cover and inner pages of the book.
Film a Doba 1 / Film and Times 1 / Bratislava City Gallery, 1965. Magazine spread out.
Film posters in history. Poster story in few takes.
The 400 Blows / Francois Truffaut, movie poster by Josef Hvozdenský, 1959.
EXPO 58 – Brussels and travelling
It was not likely until 1958 EXPO show in Brussels when Czechoslovakia suddenly reappeared in the world wide art discussion. Overleaping thickness of Communist propaganda was overshadowing the cultural existence not only for another side of the Iron curtain. No wonder, as Stanislav Kolibal, one of the most refined Czech artist / sculptor recollects in his interview for Czech radio broadcast:
[quote]”Travelling before 1957 was just not happening.”[/quote]
It was not happening after that either, but things were a bit smoother and significantly moving towards lots of explorations.
The Eleventh Commandment movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1935.
If a Thousand Clarinets movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1964.
• typical early example of the “Noodle” shaped film poster, returning as an idea back in 60s without any further success.
Christian movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1970.
Africa II movie poster by František Přikryl, 1952.
• film posters following old poster traditions.
Action B movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1951.
Irene, go home! movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1956.
• 50s film posters came very rarely with the signature.
Early days of film posters.
Unhealthy political regime in Czechoslovakia had very strong impact on cultural distribution within the country. Country was perfectly sealed off. Presence of cold war was also effecting the possibilities of any official cultural exchange. Art making was going through all kinds of metamorphosis, but in reality it only had one face. That face was called Social Realism and it had very clear, strong and long lasting statement. Visual disillusion would chase one everywhere. And if a little flag was’t displayed on the window seal on the 1st of May, one would be chased by someone else, too. Simply put; politicians were using art for their own propaganda and there was no way around it. Or maybe there was?
Whence and Where to? movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1956.
The Bigamist movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1957.
Comedians movie poster by Vladimír Šmerda, 1959.
Berlin Romance movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1956.
Endstation Liebe movie poster by Unknown Poster Artist, 1959.
Puss in Boots movie poster by Unknown Poster Artist, 1958-68.
• fascinating starts from the “old school” representatives. Many artists were trying to cover the new medium. By the end of 50s poster still did not have that film look.
Film poster in Czechoslovakia was also going through many changes before it meets the doors of collectors and film festivals. All sorts of artists were trying out to fit the new medium, but it was not until early sixties when fresh new ideologies were presented in both films and similarly in film posters design. Poster designers had it very hard to make pleasing posters for bad propaganda or WWI-II films at the beginning. Significance of EXPO 58 and sudden interest of politicians in foreign currency from the fresh source1 turned a blind eye on art scene ever since. Censorship however remains necessity.
The Smallest Show on Earth movie poster by Adolf Born, 1960.
Virgin Soil Upturned movie poster by Adolf Born, 1960.
• Adolf Born is getting involved in poster making.
Memory of the Heart movie poster by Teodor Rotrekl, 1959.
First Spaceship on Venus movie poster by Teodor Rotrekl, 1960.
• another famous Czech sci-fi books illustrator Teodor Rotrekl designs several film posters.
Walking to Heaven movie poster by Vladislav Vraštil, 1960.
Night Guest movie poster by Václav Kasík, 1961.
Censors in form of critics were very much responsible for the public picture. That could never lack enough sympathy for the comrades from the Soviet union / countries of Warszaw pact and on the other hand it had to be critical enough towards anything coming out from the west.
In visual art weird symbols of the era were the most preferable. Motifs of smiling women standing behind the factory machine pretending they do enjoy the heavy work and at the same time they are equally helping in cultivating the nation. This and similar images, everyone possibly came across when they say Communism, were implied in every possible media and censors had to make sure there was enough of it visible.
Tale of an Old Tram movie poster by Miloslav Noll, 1961.
Man in Outer Space movie poster by Jan Kubíček, 1961.
Two Men from Another World movie poster by Jan Kubíček, 1962.
Satisfactory Marriage movie poster by Jan Kubíček, 1962.
• playful illustrations and collages of Jan Kubíček were accompanying Czechoslovak film poster all the way to seventies.
Hungry for Love movie poster by Unknown Artist, 1961.
On the Bowery movie poster by Jan Sechter, 1961.
• photograph stretches all across the poster.
Thankfully not all of the art disciplines were destined for an extinction. Illustration, animated films as well as film posters remained intact with only few slight obstacles.2 By the beginning of 1960s several renown artists, graphic designers and illustrators such as Bedřich Dlouhý, Miloš Reindl, Richard Fremund, Zdeněk Palcr, Karel Teissig, Jaroslav Fišer were shaping up the future visuals of film posters. When award winning poster and graphic designer Zdeněk Ziegler meets the official film posters committee for the first time, he remembers his feelings were strongly in favour of his critics.
[quote]”There were always two or three graphic designers among commissioners who would defend fellow colleague. It was Karel Vaca and Dobroslav Foll in my case.” 3[/quote]
The 400 Blows / Francois Truffaut – Promotional film catalogueThe 400 Blows / Francois Truffaut, Catalogue view opposite side.
With increasing attendance at the international film festivals, film poster was also heading towards new directions. International success of movies created by Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Jiří Menzel and other important directors of Czechoslovak New Wave, introduced Czechoslovak poster design to the foreign audience. Film posters designed in 1960s were created by some of the best poster designers of the era and we will be exploring them in more details in our next post.
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1. Enough currency was floating in the country. Czechoslovakia was one of the greatest business partners with the death at the time. Military industry was among the most popular and export was doing just fine. / 150 000 Slov – former exile magazine, X/91/27, p.3-5, Morálka musí počkat (Morale must wait), Inge Santnerová. 2.Vratislav Hlavatý for the Czech Radio Interview / 29.3.2013 (Several of his publications were banned throughout Communism). 3.Zdeněk Ziegler for the Czech Radio Interview / 15.5.2013.
Additional research:
Literature:
Flashback / Czech and Slovak Film Posters 1959-1989, ed. Libor Gronský, Marek Perůtka, Michal Soukup, Olomouc Museum of Art, 2004.
Harold Lloyd in His Best Comedies, 1963 / The King of Kings, 1963. Exhibition catalogue excerpt, Munich, 1965.
Welcome to the humorous world of Stanislav Duda, possibly one of the longest lasting poster designer Czechoslovakia had on offer. His poster activities are dating to late 40s, where he gained several awards for his commercial poster designs. 7 Stanislav Duda begins to work professionally right after his graduation as graphic designer in Centrotex company (import / export of mostly textile products) where he stayed until 1953. From then onwards he works on his own as freelancer. He takes part in several group exhibitions representing graphic art from Czechoslovakia and also participates on International Exposition in Brussels (EXPO 58), where Czechoslovakia won prize for the best pavilion.
By the beginning of 1960s when Stanislav Duda started designing movie posters he was already well established graphic artist. Not sure if it was just by mere coincidence or because of his personal character, but it seems that majority of his 1960s movie posters were designed mostly for grotesque comedy (most of the posters shown in the article). Parallel to his illustrated caricatures that could be seen in several popular periodicals or art magazines, one can suggest that circumstances were working in his favour.
When Comedy Was King / Stanislav Duda, 1965. Brno Biennials catalogue excerpt, 1970.
It is interesting to observe artist’s development through out his career. Stanislav Duda remained faithful to drawing all the way to mid 1980s. Apart of occasional use of very simple collage (Bewitched Love, 1969 (bellow) / Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, 1985) or his phenomenal movie poster for Francois Truffaut’s Day for Night (great example of his graphical abilities) he was focused mainly on illustration and experimented a lot with fonts and colour. Eventually he also takes control over typography and masters everything in very unique almost childish quality of naive artist as can be seen in his later poster designs.
Movie poster Bewitched Love / Stanislav Duda, 1969.
Stanislav Duda was author of several animated films and illustrated a good number of books for both children and adults. His work brought him a world recognition in pretty much everything he has touched. He has designed around thirty movie posters all with genuine signature and obtained some important movie poster awards.
Many other magnificent posters by Stanislav Duda can be observed in our movie poster archive.
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The Haunted Castle movie poster designed by Stanislav Duda, 1961.
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Resources:
Literature:
II. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno ’66, Medzinárodní Výstava Knižní Grafiky a Ilustrace, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 2nd Biennale of Graphic Design Brno ’66, The International Exhibition of Book Graphics and Illustrations, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1966
3.5. IV. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1970, Medzinárodní Přehlídka Plakátu a Propagační Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 4th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1970, The International Exhibition of Poster and Promotional Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1970 (p.41)
V. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1972, Medzinárodní Výstava Ilustrace a Knižní Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 5th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1972, The International Exhibition of Illustrations and Book Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1972
VII. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1976, Mezinárodní výstava ilustrace a knižní grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 7th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1976, The International Exhibition of Illustrations and Book Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1976
IX. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1980, Medzinárodní Výstava Ilustrace a Knižní Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 9th Biennale of Graphic Design 1980, The International Exhibition of Illustrations and Book Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1980
6.Současná světová grafika, Deset brněnských bienále / The World Graphic Design at the Ten Brno Biennials, Jiří Hlušička. Odeon, Praha, 1985 (p.272)
7. 1948, 1949, 1955 – 1st, 2nd & 3rd Prize for commercial poster design. IV. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1970, Medzinárodní Přehlídka Plakátu a Propagační Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 4th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1970, The International Exhibition of Poster and Promotional Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1970 (p.41)
4. Exhibition Catalogue: Plakate aus der Tschechoslowakei / Posters from the Czechoslovakia. Münchner Stadstmuseum, Munich, West Germany, 16.2 − 20.3. 1965. Texts: Alena Adlerová & Johanna von Herzogenberg.
Online:
1.abArt / Stanislav Duda / Most of the biographical details are coming from AbArt’s archive unless otherwise referred.
2.AbArt / Group of Artists and Graphic Designers established in Prague between 1957 − 1968. Main activities were exhibitions of group members in Czechoslovakia and abroad.
Article about exhibition Plakate aus der Tschechoslowakei / Posters from the Czechoslovakia, Munich, West Germany (1965) was printed in Gebrauchsgraphik Magazine, January/1965 and is available thanks to International Advertising & Design DataBase (pages 46-60).
Harold Lloyd in His Best Comedies, 1963 / The King of Kings, 1963. Exhibition Catalogue: Plakate aus der Tschechoslowakei / Posters from the Czechoslovakia. Münchner Stadstmuseum, Munich, West Germany, 16.2 − 20.3. 1965. Texts: Alena Adlerová & Johanna von Herzogenberg
When Comedy Was King / Stanislav Duda, 1965.Exhibition Catalogue: IV. Bienále Užité Grafiky Brno 1970, Medzinárodní Přehlídka Plakátu a Propagační Grafiky, Moravská Galerie v Brně. / 4th Biennale of Graphic Design Brno 1970, The International Exhibition of Poster and Promotional Graphics, Moravian Gallery Brno, 1970 (p. 145)
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