This poster for an exhibition about the history of political posters features a screenprinted image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, the Argentine revolutionary whose face became synonymous with leftist oppositional movements in the twentieth century. Variations of the poster were produced by directly spray-painting different messages and marks over Guevara’s portrait.

Poster, Die Linke ins Museum, Hoffnung und Widerstand [The Left in the Museum, Hope and Resistance], 1998. Designed by Cornel Windlin (Swiss, b. 1964) and Laurent Benner (Swiss, b. 1975) for Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich (Zürich, Switzerland). Screenprints, some with stencil and black spray paint. 127.8 × 89.7 cm (50 5/16 × 35 5/16 in.) (each). Gift of Sara and Marc Benda, 2010-21-50

Poster, Die Linke ins Museum, Hoffnung und Widerstand [The Left in the Museum, Hope and Resistance], 1998. Designed by Cornel Windlin (Swiss, b. 1964) and Laurent Benner (Swiss, b. 1975) for Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich (Zürich, Switzerland). Screenprints, some with stencil and black spray paint. 127.8 × 89.7 cm (50 5/16 × 35 5/16 in.) (each). Gift of Sara and Marc Benda, 2010-21-50

Poster, Die Linke ins Museum, Hoffnung und Widerstand [The Left in the Museum, Hope and Resistance], 1998. Designed by Cornel Windlin (Swiss, b. 1964) and Laurent Benner (Swiss, b. 1975) for Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich (Zürich, Switzerland). Screenprints, some with stencil and black spray paint. 127.8 × 89.7 cm (50 5/16 × 35 5/16 in.) (each). Gift of Sara and Marc Benda, 2010-21-111

Poster, Die Linke ins Museum, Hoffnung und Widerstand [The Left in the Museum, Hope and Resistance], 1998. Designed by Cornel Windlin (Swiss, b. 1964) and Laurent Benner (Swiss, b. 1975) for Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich (Zürich, Switzerland). Screenprints, some with stencil and black spray paint. 127.8 × 89.7 cm (50 5/16 × 35 5/16 in.) (each). Gift of Sara and Marc Benda, 2010-21-111

 

Ellen Lupton is Senior Curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Director of the Graphic Design MFA program at Maryland Institute College of Art.

The exhibition How Posters Work is currently on view at Cooper Hewitt through November 15, 2015.  You can learn more at the exhibition homepage  and find the book How Posters Work at SHOP Cooper Hewitt. #HowPostersWork

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