Once again, Fort Collins has gone poster.
Every two years, for six weeks or so, this northern Colorado city becomes the poster capital of the United States.
At the center of everything is the Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition – hosted by Colorado State University – back this year for its 14th installment with 165 selections.
Not only is the biennial offering this country’s oldest and largest showcase of contemporary posters from around the world, but it also happens to be the only major one.
“I believe that there are about six or eight or 10 international poster shows of prominence in the world today,” said founding director Phil Risbeck, a professor of art. “This is the fourth oldest, and we’re kind of tied right in there with Lahti, Finland. Ours started at the same time.”
Almost all the important shows take place in Prague, Warsaw and other European cities. The continent was the cradle of poster development in the 19th and 20th centuries and remains the most significant center of poster creativity and production.
“Posters are not privileged as much in this country, as they are, say, in France, where the huge subway poster is an important art form and is thought of as an important art form,” said Linny Frickman, director of CSU’s Hatton Gallery. “The way the poster is thought of is very different here.”
If the art of the poster does not get much attention in the rest of the United States – at least outside of dorm rooms – it certainly does in Fort Collins. Besides the invitational, there are three other poster exhibitions on the CSU campus alone.
One, titled “Designing Women,” features selections from the school’s International Poster Collection, which consists of one copy of all the posters that have been exhibited in the 13 previous invitationals, about 3,000 in all.
But the poster madness does not stop at the campus boundaries. The Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art is taking part with an exhibition of 100 posters for cultural events by Felipe Taborda, a noted Rio de Ja- neiro designer.
And even the high schools in the Poudre School District have gotten into the act. Thirty-one student posters are on view at Lincoln Center, Fort Collins’ performing arts complex, along with two other offerings devoted to the art form.
Especially worth seeing is a group of works by this year’s honor laureate, Marta Granados, a professor of graphic design at the National University of Colombia. Her distinctive, largely abstract designs burst with a full spectrum of colors.
Despite this abundance of activity, it is still easy to wonder: Why Fort Collins?
The answer can be traced to CSU’s long history of a strong graphic-design program. After showing their works in top poster exhibitions in Europe, several faculty members conceived the idea of a similar show at CSU. The first was launched in 1979.
Unlike most of its peers, this exhibition is an invitational and not a juried show. Each year, the directors scour the world for the best designers, trying to achieve as broad a geographical and stylistic range as possible.
“We travel to the exhibitions. We look at publications. We try and keep our finger on the pulse of what is happening in posters,” said John Gravdahl, a professor of art and one of the co-directors of the exhibition.
Although the directors can control the choice of artists, they do not have a say over the works the artists submit.
“Sometimes that is a disappointment, and other times, it’s just, ‘Wow, I thought he was good, but look how great!”‘ said Risbeck.
This year’s exhibition features posters by 86 artists from 34 countries. As in previous years, diversity reigns. The subject matter varies, but much of it focuses on social policy and politics or some aspect of the arts, everything from announcing a Counting Crows concert to publicizing a ceramics exhibition in Japan.
One of the strongest socio-political statements comes from Karel Aubrecht of the Czech Republic, who questions what is happening to privacy rights as security increases. He makes this point boldly and succintly with the simple superimposition of a fingerprint over the face of the Statue of Liberty.
Poster designs were created using a host of techniques, from drawing and stenciling to many strong examples of photography, such as an eye-stopping image of a fly on a water jar in a poster by Uwe Loesch of Germany. Also deserving note is the clever incorporation of folk relief sculptures into a regional crafts poster by India’s Subrata Bhowmick.
One aspect of this year’s show that stands out is an abundance of what Frickman calls “alternative formats,” works that break away from the prototypical poster look in some way or another. Examples include triptychs by Vladimir Chaika of Russia, accordion-folded works by Boris Ljubicic of Croatia and a cut-out piece by Wang Xu of China.
This 14th edition of the poster show is another strong, engaging installment. Everyone from graphic designers to people who just think posters are cool will likely find it and the many accompanying offerings worth the trip.
So, come on. Go poster.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-820-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
“14th Colorado International Invitational Poster Exhibition”
Through Oct. 14|Exhibition of posters from 34 countries|Hatton Gallery, Visual Arts Building, and Curfman Gallery, Lory Student Center, Colorado State University, Fort Collins|Free|9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays
“Honor Laureate, Directors and High-School Exhibition”
Through Oct. 28|Posters by honor laureate Marta Granados and others|Lincoln Center, 417 W. Magnolia St., Fort Collins|Free|8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays
“Felipe Taborda: 100 Posters”
Through Oct. 22|Exhibition spotlighting the Brazilian graphic designer|Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, 201 S. College Ave., Fort Collins|Free|10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays
“Designing Women: Selections from the International Poster Collection”
Through Dec. 16|Exhibition of posters by noted female artists|First National Bank Gallery, Morgan Library, Colorado State University|Free|7 a.m. to midnight Mondays to Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and noon to midnight Sundays
Information for all events: (colostate.edu/Depts/Art/poster or 970-491-7634)
