Posters, Prints and Propoganda

August 29 – October 31, 2009

Reception: September 3, 2009, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Posters, Prints and Propaganda, a collection of 70 prints from RAM’s permanent collection, demonstrates the range and style of techniques possible within printmaking.  Simply put, a print is any visual copy or reproduction of an image.  As an artistic medium, printmaking ranges widely in variety and complexity.  From traditional woodcut block prints to experimental colored lithographs, this exhibition includes ten different printmaking techniques with representative pieces from across the artistic spectrum – from “art for art’s sake” to political propaganda.  The intent of Posters, Prints and Propaganda is not only to highlight the many types of printmaking and the differences between them, but also to examine the social impact that this technology has created, namely through the production of mass advertisements (posters) and the spread of a specific political message on a public scale (propaganda).  These works also provide insight into the artistic production of the pieces themselves, while encouraging an appreciation for the various types that make them each unique – the crisp lines produced by the linocut blocks, the freedom of design allowed for by lithography, and the richness of color that comes through a silk screen.