Picasso Peace Posters

.

Picasso designed his first posters in 1948, at age 67. This was astonishingly late, seeing as he had devoted himself to other applied arts such as book illustration, ballet costumes and sets, tapestries, and carpets from very nearly the start of his career. Over the following 2 decades, Picasso produced approximately 70 posters - and his treatment of image and word were extremely unconventional. Intrigued by his playful and emotionally charged style, it is collectors - more than art historians - who have done justice to Picasso's poster art. (Marc Gundel)

Calligram

By Hella Basu - Graphic arrangement of a poem by John Donne. This designer is well known for the originality of her compositions involving calligraphy. (Heather Child)

Calligram - Calligraphic or typographic composition in which the works themselves form the design. Existed at least as far back as early medieval times. A popular form of decoration in some Jewish MSS, where it is called micrography. (Rose Folsum)

I've posted this word in the past but wanted to share this beautiful example with you all. It 's from an old book, Calligraphy Today by Heather Child

Dingbat

Printer's term for a small visual device to fill space decoratively or to call attention to part of the text. (Rose Folsum)

Picasso in Vallauris

Vallauris: Ten Years of Picasso Ceramics 1958.

Picasso: Ceramics and White Clay, 1958

Between 1948 and 1966, Picasso created some 70 posters. His use of materials, mode of expression and playful creativity are unrivaled. Most of his posters were designed for the southern french town of Vallauris, as part of ad campaigns for various art and crafts exhibitions, and bullfights. (Marc Gundel from Picasso The Art of the Poster - Prestel, 2000)

I was especially drawn to these posters because I spent some time in Vallauris and bought some ceramics there that I use everyday. Vallauris is an 'art town' specializing mostly in ceramics - there is a wonderful ceramics museum there. During Picasso's stay there he did a lot of printmaking which is quite similar to the look of these posters. It's a beautiful little town not far from the coast and very close to the 'perfume capital', Grasse.

Vignettes

Decorative and margin ornamentation on the printed page. Alternatively, a picture with irregular edges and no frame, that shades away at the sides. (Gabriele Fahr-Becker)