Evening star., 1951-06-03
Ar
Modern Poster Art
OF Switzerland
On Exhibition
By Florence S. Berrymon


By Florence S. Berrymon
An exhibition Of Swiss posters
will open next Friday afternoon
in the foyer of the Natural History
Building, United States National
Museum, under the patronage OF
H. z. Charles Bruggmann. Min
lister of Switzerland, and the
auspices Of the American Fedora
ton of Arts. The public is invited
to the opening. from 1880 to 4
o'clock. The show will continue
through Tuesday, June 26.
Modern poster art in Switzer-
land has a personal history OF
more than half century. It was
founded in Paris, where two
French-Swiss artists were at work
in the 1905: Eugene Grasset, re-
sponsible for its fiat, ornamental
surfaces, and Theophile Steinlen,
Influenced by Toulouse-Lautrec
and the Japanese. Another strong.
early impulse came from Ger
many's Munich school. These var
|ious factors led to the develop
lment of an independent Swiss
poster influenced by Switzerland's
|greatest painter in modern times,
Ferdinand Holder, who took it
out of the realm Of illustration.
A new era was inaugurated
about 1914 by Emil Cardinaux,
which is designated as one OF
artists posters" because leading
painters took up lithography and
made the poster a work OF art.
I'm the early 1930s, Niklaus Stock
lin of Basle began making sober
and realistic posters OF high
quality, which continue to hold
the balance between examples OF
pure painting and those OF more
intellectual and speculative ma
Iture.
Modern Poster Art.
An outstanding personality of
the pure painting" poster group
lis Alois Carigiet, who gets imagi-
nation and whimsy into his post
|ers, quite different from the sharp
wit and sobriety Of the Basle
school, whose most productive
representative. Herbert Leupin,
Iborrows from Swiss peasant art.
the rich colors in his work. Hans
Erni of Lucerne uses ,surrealism
in his intellectual posters, which
have earned him a reputation as
one of the best representatives
of modern poster art. Ernst Kel-
Iler of Zurich Is noted for his ex-
cellent poster lettering. All Of
these artists are represented in
the coming exhibition.
Nearly 10 years ago the Swiss
Ministry of the Interior decided
to promote the country's poster
art by awards to the publishers,
designers and printers of the best
street posters appearing during
each calendar year. The posters
are judged on esthetic merit,
printing quality and their effect
as publicity.
| Prize-winning posters constitute
the core Of the show, financed by
the national institution, Pro Hell
Ivetia, and organized by the Swiss
office for the development of
trade.
A Peoples Art.
i Posters are so much in the pub
lie eye that they should be "peo-
pies art" Their major purpose,
of course, is to sell something;
products, services and needs (those
which appeal for charities). They
should fulfill cultural demands by
harmonizing esthetic with CONNER
cial and other aspects. And they
most certainly should not shut out
scenic views and turn highways
into eyesoreS.
Consequently. the poster dis
tributor is as important as the
poster user, artist and printer. The
General Poster Co., founded in
Geneva in 1900, co-operates with
societies for the protection of nat
ural beauties and historical sites,
which have great economic value
in Switzerland. Preferred places
for posters in that country are
carefully chosen walls. pillars and
telephone boxes of the modern
town. Bill-sticking regulations
largely prevent uncontrolled dis
plays on private premises in some
3.700 towns and villages served by
the company. Display periods are
short, about fortnight in towns,
but are longer in railway sta
tionS.
Switzerland's Minister of the
Interior, Philipp Etter, has writ
ten a comprehensive history of
! the Swiss poster.