The Social Centre of Cortes de Pallás hosts the exposition ‘Art and Prograpanda. Posters of the Universitat de València (1937-1939)’ until 6 September. In this wide selection of Republican posters, all the topics presented in the war production, as well as the political parties, trade units and public or private entities which finance them can be found.
The Vice-Principal Hermosilla has pointed out that “the selection of posters in Cortes de Pallás shows the vitality and maturity of the Valencian and foreign graphic art, highlighting its connections with the most advanced artistic tendencies in each stage”.
The UV’s cataloguing labour has achieved the rescue of graphic works from different periods and topics -mainly from the beginning of the 20th century and the thirties- from oblivion. Among the different graphic heritage properties held by the UV, an important repertoire of 260 Republican posters of the Spanish civil war, which is one of the most precious repertoire of the university graphic collection, is to be highlighted. The exposition which arrives to Cortes de Pallás collects a representative selection of this heritage through twenty posters.
The war poster, as an artistic and propaganda instrument, able to reach a broad audience and go ahead the visual renovation according to the postulates and demands of a society immersed in a revolutionary dynamic, focused on a lot of artists from the thirties. One of the most important artistic firms of these years of war, which was encouraged by different institutions, political organizations and trade units, appeared. The need to launch slogans, as well as to guide and to raise awareness to the citizens given the exceptional situation which took place during the Second World War, motivated many corporations to encourage the edition of posters.
The exposition is structured in three main sections: the first one consists of several posters which do not have an explicit reference to Valencia, made by main firms in the field of creation of poster art and the Spanish graphic illustration of the thirties (Josep Morell, Bardasano, Oliver, Pedrero, Yes, Cluselles, Parrilla, Bagaría, Puyol, etc.). The second section consists of posters by the main Valencian artists, of which the outstanding creations of Alcaraz Cortés, Josep Espert, Amérigo Salazar, Garcia Escribà, Vicent Canet, Lluís Dubon and Mauricio Amster are highlighted. As well as the masterpieces of war posters belonging to Renau, Artur Ballester and Vicent Ballester. The collection concludes with a brief section dedicated to advertising design and institutional posters or diplomas promoted by the same academic institution due to the IV and V centenary of its foundation. And it is precisely this extensive chronological period what gives the chance to look broadly the evolution of a century of posters, which starts with Sorolla’s art or Josep Mongrell’s Art Nouveau, going through the best makers of war posters until the highly topical present day under the guidance of Xavier Mariscal.
Last update: 4 de august de 2016 06:40.
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