May Gallery Talks by Jim Lapides at International Poster Gallery

On Wednesday, May 2, 2007 and Wednesday, May 9, 2007 International Poster Gallery will host two gallery talks by Jim Lapides to illustrate the history and significance of French, German and Swiss product poster design.

[ClickPress, Fri Apr 20 2007] International Poster Gallery will host two gallery talks by Jim Lapides to illustrate the history and significance of French, German and Swiss product poster design. The first presentation titled, "French Product Champions from Cappiello to Villemot," takes place Wednesday, May 2 at 6:00pm. The second gallery talk will be held Wednesday, May 9 at 6:00pm and is titled, "Not So Simple: The Object Poster Style." Both talks are in conjunction with the current exhibit at International Poster Gallery, "Objects of Desire: Product Poster Masterpieces from the Corset to the Ipod." The gallery talks are free and open to the public. International Poster Gallery is located at 205 Newbury Street in Boston. Call (617) 375-0076 or visit www.internationalposter.com for information.

"French Product Champions from Cappiello to Villemot," (May 2) traces the evolution of the product poster in France. Artists featured include Leonetto Cappiello, whose work dominated the poster field in France between the two World Wars, and his poster Contratto (Blue). Also featured is Jules Cheret, often called the Father of the Poster, and artists he influenced, such as Georges Meunier. Others include Art Deco master A.M. Cassandre, and mid-century artists Raymond Savignac, and Bernard Villemot.

"Not So Simple: The Object Poster Style," (May 9) will focus on the revolutionary form of advertising first introduced in Germany in about 1905 called the "Object Poster" or Sach Plakat. This discussion will trace the Object Poster through its German roots to the tremendous impact it had on Swiss and French designers. The presentation will feature work by pioneer artist Otto Baumberger, creator of PKZ (1923), considered the most famous Swiss Object Poster. This close-up lithographic rendering of a coat showing only the PKZ label is so realistic that many people think it is a photograph.

"This important collection of object posters offers an exciting opportunity to share the history of object posters in design and advertising. We'll also look at those design contributions which redefined the role of products in advertising," comments owner and poster expert Jim Lapides. "These talks will highlight the numerous ways poster artists have made products and brands irresistible to the public since the 1890’s."

Mr. Lapides, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, graduated from Yale University in 1974 magna cum laude with distinction in the History of Art, specializing in Italian Renaissance art. In 1979, he received his MBA from Harvard Business School. In 1990, he began to collect vintage posters seriously, focusing primarily on Italian poster art. Combining his passion for posters with his business acumen, in 1994 Mr. Lapides opened International Poster Gallery on Newbury Street in Boston. He has lectured and written extensively on posters in addition to curating numerous exhibitions.

Since opening on Newbury Street in 1994, International Poster Gallery has hosted more than 30 thematic exhibitions of original vintage posters. The gallery's website, www.internationalposter.com, is the largest and most comprehensive on-line collection of vintage advertising posters in the world. A powerful search engine on the site allows viewers to search the inventory thoroughly and easily by subject, country, style, poster artist, size or keyword.

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