Chicago International Poster Biennial: 2010
Chicago International Poster Biennial: 2010
With one word, define a poster: Propoganda. Passion. Challenge. Chirping. Metaphor. Mechanism. Aphorism. Seduction. Dialogue. Monologue. Satire. Siren. Irony. Inspiration. Advertising. Protest. Window. Mirror. Love. Hate. Trash. Collectible. Ephemeron. Masterpiece. Placeholder. Plea. Icon. Eye-candy. Weapon. Battle. Signal. Pledge. Gift. Defiance. Obsession. Any of these will do.
Time, as Einstein and others have said, is relative. The same holds true for posters. What defines them is not nearly as much the ink and paper forming the message, but the circumstance of their time and place in the world. At a singular point in time, from a particular human perspective, within the right cultural conditions, any singular word above could serve as the central definition of a given poster. So on the day that the 2nd Chicago International Poster Biennial exhibition opens at the Harrington College of Design, that word which best defines a poster, for me, is that it is a “lesson.”
Lance Rutter
