two samples of posters recall glories of cinema and theater

The wealth offered by a graphic collection composed of posters is not sufficiently recognized, perhaps because evolution of digital communication and its new expressions seem to reduce the posters to the archive. However, many posters mark a history and build a memory. Take the case of the cat-obsessed artist behind the famous cartel of “Le Chat Noir”.

According to publication The Artnet Newsno one who has walked Paris can ignore, for example, some version of a 19th century poster“Tournée du Chat Noir de Rodolphe Salis” or “Tour del Chat Noir de Rodolphe Salis”. The poster motif has been reproduced endlessly on bags, postcards, copies in gift shops, tourist mugs, etc.

According to the source, The poster was created in 1896 for Le Chat Noir, a venue considered today to be the first modern cabaret.located in the Montmartre neighborhood and founded by businessman Rodolphe Salis. The place was called “Le Chat Noir”, and writers, artists and other bohemian and avant-garde creators circulated there.

The poster – a lesser known fact – was created by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, an artist and resident of Montmartre for whom Cats were a true and enduring passion in the 19th century. He was born in Switzerland in 1859 and died in 1923 in Paris. Although he created traditional landscapes, still lifes and nudes, his most popular graphic work remains the posters of Le Chat Noir and his cats. Tournée du Chat Noir is just one of dozens of commercial pieces Steinlen made that feature cats in the foreground.

Posters, like the title of Atilio Stampone’s wonderful tango, they reach two national cultural spaces: the Bicentennial House and the Freedom Palace. In the first case, Today on the billboard! Dialogues of cinema and theater in 101 postersexhibit Argentine film and theater posters that were exhibited decades ago at the San Martín Theater, at the Cervantes National Theater, among others, with the contribution of photographers, illustrators, collagists, etc., with whom the history of a graphic heritage is traced – and with a lot of work search – for the rescue of these pieces that will be exhibited from this Tuesday until December of this year.

The second exhibition, which opened this weekend at the Palacio Libertad, titled The search for Nostalgiaexhibits Argentine film posters made between 1934 and 1964. Through them we can remember or get to know the great stars, directors and films that marked the history of national cinema. This is an exquisite collection from the Cinemateca Foundation, chaired by Marcela Cassinelli, and which has already been successfully presented in Mendoza.

The organization of the expo Today on the billboard! dialogues from cinema and theater in 101 posters is in charge of MICA (Market of Argentine Cultural Industries), program of the Ministry of Culture of the Nation, led by Leonardo Cifelli, through its MICA Conecta Audiencias line.

From Wednesday, November 6 and until December 15 offers a visual tour of the evolution of graphic design in cinema and theater in Argentina and pays tribute to Argentine graphic design and the transformation of the visual communication of our performing and cinematographic artsevoking outstanding moments of our culture.

Besides there are workshops and conversations. The curatorial project covers the last fifty years of visual communication in Argentine cinema and theater, a period in which graphic design has been a key piece to narrate its identity.

Unforgettable posters includedsuch as those of the visual artist Edgardo Giménez, which reflect the avant-garde of official theater and, in the field of cinema, others that show the transformation of the industry, from the eighties to contemporary cinema, accompanied by graphics that marked the pulse of each time.

The exhibition of graphic creations from more than 25 designers –made in collaboration with photographers, illustrators, draftsmen and typographers–, they bring together the authorship of more than 50 visual communication professionals that communicate the works of more than 100 Argentine film and theater directors.

Participants include Alejandro Ros, Andrés Mendilaharzu, Boogieman Media, Teatro General San Martín Design Department, Teatro Nacional Cervantes Design Department, Diego Berakha, Diego Heras, Edgardo Giménez, Estudio Trineo, Ezequiel Black, Florencia Bembihy, Gabriela Kogan , Johanna Wolf, Juan Lo Bianco, Marcelo Granero, Martín Lehmann, Pablo Bologna, Romina Del Prete and Renata Schussheim.

MICA acts as a link between the public and private sectors to give visibility to the export capacity of cultural industries.

In the graph of the different genres There is no shortage of posters for documentary, queer, adolescent, commercial, or films directed by womenas well as the official, commercial and independent circuits). The greatest tribute is to Edgardo Giménez, plastic artist and reference of design in Argentine theater.

The posters that the Cinemateca Foundation and the Palacio Libertad have presented to the public since the beginning of this month show commendable craftsmanship. In many cases, the posters were made by hand, with special large designs. for the marquees of the main cinemas, where stars such as Niní Marshall, Mirtha Legrand, Tita Merello and Luis Sandrini passed through the red carpet to bring to life one of the most important events of the time: the premiere of these unforgettable films.

With the incorporation of sound and the displacement of silent films, a golden era began for local filmography: films reached new audiences and became cultural and popular consumption par excellence. Artists who designed posters faced the challenge of synthesizing, with their own style, the central elements of each story.its genre and its protagonists. The originals, made with different artistic techniques, were enlarged and reproduced through lithography.

In this exhibition you can see twenty posters of different classic films as Nini must be educateddirected by Luis César Amadori; The islandersby Lucas Demare; Prisoners of the earthby Mario Soffici; Orchid Tuesdaysby Francisco Mugica, among others.

But focusing on the posters, You can see those of Venturi, one of the artists most in demand by the national and international film industry of the time.. The exhibition begins with one of its posters: that of The gauch wara, a film directed by Lucas Demare, which marks a milestone in Argentine cinema, and which will incidentally name one of the rooms of the Palacio Libertad after the filmmaker. They are posters that stand out for their expressiveness and loose strokes.

From his label are the posters, in addition to the one mentioned, of the films The sacred cry, Prisoners of the earth, The waters go down cloudy y A cart.

Another highlight of this exhibition is the poster of The gangstarring in its original version by Mirtha Legranddirected by her husband Daniel Tinayre, and in its remake by Dolores Fonzi, directed by Santiago Miter. The poster was created by Rafael Angel Faillace, inspired by the artistic expressions of the avant-garde of the 50s.in which pop art, already booming in the United Kingdom, stood out, both for the irregular colored letters, the flat backgrounds, and the synthesis of Mirtha’s face.

The exhibition will remain for a month in the Lucas Demare Room of the Palacio Libertad Centro Cultural Sarmiento.