Arthur Szyk, "La Muerte del Negro Primero"

I just recently got as a present this beautiful miniature by Arthur Szyk, titled "La Muerte del Negro Primero". Art is 4.25 x 5.75 in gouache and ink on board.

Arthur Szyk (1894 – 1951) was a Polish-Jewish artist.

Best known for his World War II anti-Nazi political art and his Passover Haggadah, 20th century artist Arthur Szyk single-handedly revived the medieval tradition of illumination.

A master of miniature painting and calligraphy, Szyk brought his unmistakable style to subjects as diverse as biblical stories, literary classics, and political caricature and cartoon. Many of his works were published as limited edition fine art books and as editorials in periodicals such as Collier’s, Esquire, TIME, and The New York Post. Other popular works, such as his celebrated Declaration of Independence of the United States, were reproduced and widely distributed as fine art prints.

A self-described “soldier in art,” Szyk was a committed activist-artist, advocating for religious tolerance and racial equality for minorities, especially for Jews and black Americans.

Learn more about Arthur Szyk here and here.

Roman Cieslewicz Poster

To not think I'm only collecting movie posters from ex-Yugoslavia.

Here is a 1979 poster by legendary Polish/French designer Roman Cieslewicz for the Paris-Moscow 1900–1930 exhibition at the Centre Pompidou, Paris.
You can see here a documentary about Cieslewicz—the excerpted clip describes our first meeting.

Secret Agent Corrigan

I just got myself a comic strip, "Secret Agent Corrigan" by Al Williamson from 1976. Despite not having his usual beautifully-rendered drapery and cross-eyed ladies, it's still a great example of minimalist composition and drawing.

Here are comics how they appear in print with deleted blue pencil and aging halftone effects.

Bistre glave (Block-Heads) movie poster

Recently, I acquired this poster for the movie Bistre glave (Block-Heads) from from early 1960's Yugoslavia, printed in Zagreb, Croatia. Designer unknown.

Everything about this poster is unusual. It's printed in silkscreen. It has a huge American flag on it for no particular reason, and in the strange collage under the star, among others, appears Italian comics character Valentina by Guido Crepax. Probably one of the most erotic comics of the '60s and '70s. What does she have to do with Laurel and Hardy? Nobody knows.

Two More Bucan Posters

Two more movie posters designed by Croatian artist Boris Bucan.

The first one is for the movie "Prijeki sud" (Martial Law) from 1978.
The second is for "Zivi bili pa vidjeli" (We Will See) from 1979. The legs in the shape of a T-square is because the movie is about architecture students.

Previous posts of Bucan posters I have acquired can be found here and here.

60s Movie Posters from Old Country

I acquired two more movie posters from old country.

The first, a poster for Mali vojnici (Little soldiers) from 1967, designed by Miloš Ćirić.
The second is a poster Kljuc (Key) from 1965, designed by Mihovil Šimunić-Šim.

Spotikavci Posters on the Streets of Ljubljana

The first posters for Gunter Demnig's Spotikavci project appeared on the streets in Ljubljana.

Demnig's project, Spotikavci (Stumbling Block) is to replace the cobblestones outside Holocaust victims' homes with brass plates inscribed with short epitaphs. Spotikavci will be unveiled in Ljubljana on August 6, 2018. This event was organized by the Jewish Cultural Centre in Ljubljana.

Read our past blog about Stumbling Block here.