Josep Queralt, master classes
In December 2004, a show opened at the Museum of Valls, birthplace of Josep Queralt (1910–1993), curated by Santi Barjau and Jordi Paris. It presented works produced by this pioneer for local businesses and industry, including Farmacia Muret, Porcelanas Isard, and the iron and steel manufacturer, agricultural cooperative and printing house Moncunill. In the introductory...
Shouting at the wall
Just a few months ago, the publication Crits a la paret i poemes visuals. Josep Pla-Narbona. Cartells 1947-2004, coordinated by the recently departed Professor Anna Calvera, was presented at the Barcelona Design Museum. In the files in my study, I still have the preparatory dossier in Catalan for this book, with a different working title...
The Poster in Asturias
It is inspiring to see how in recent years a proliferation of initiatives have materialized in the form of monographic books or exhibitions that are serving to recover and value the work of the pioneers of Spanish graphic design. Virtually all the graphic artists that appeared in the book “Pioneers” in 2007, years later are...
Prieto and the Theatrical Poster
This is the third post published in “Graphic Pioneers” about different creative aspects of Manolo Prieto’s work. We previously referred to the series of covers that he designed for “Novels and Stories” (see previous post) or the illustrations collected in the book “Toros en El Puerto” (see previous post); this time we are going to...
Poza at Grupo 13
Juan Poza Tártalo cites how the collaboration with Federico Ribas and his admiration for the works of Rafael de Penagos and Bartolozzi gave rise to his interest in the poster. In the years that saw the poster become the showpiece of visual communication, Poza would produce more than three hundred, many winning awards in the...
The Poster’s Third Dimension
In 1890 the French painter Maurice Denis asserted: “remember that a painting – before it is a battle horse, a nude model, or some anecdote – is essentially a flat surface covered with colours assembled in a certain order”. If this reflection is transferred over to the understanding of a poster, then it is unsurprising...
Bechtold, “Destino (Destination)” Barcelona
Erwin Bechtold arrived in Barcelona in 1950, although, as Ricard Giralt Miracle wrote in 1993, more than simply arriving in Barcelona, he disembarked in Filograf (see previous posts), the graphic arts studio where this pioneer would print his and his clients’ work. Bechtold and Giralt Miracle crossed paths in careers bound to print and typography,...
Spain on posters
In 2005, the Division of Information, Documentaries and Publications from Spain’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade published a catalogue of official posters from Spanish tourism spanning the period between 1929 and 1959. This volume verifies how the promotion of tourism in Spain is not something recent, and, by the same token, it demonstrates contributions...
Cruz Novillo and Producers
The first programme coordinated to unify printed and animated graphic art was used for Otto Preminger’s 1955 film The Man with the Golden Arm. The title sequence was designed by Saul Bass and featured an arm that traced the plot of the film: the drug addiction of its main character. The credits for the film...
The graphic art of 25 years of peace
In Spain 1964 marked the 25th anniversary since the end of the Civil War. The convenience of using the central courtyard of the building that housed the Traffic Department’s Head Office saw an improvised workshop set up for producing a series of billboards by components of Grupo 13, who were “invited” to participate in a...
Catalan activist design by Pilar Villuendas
“Looking over the images produced throughout these years goes above and beyond a possible analysis of their graphic values to become a statement of the small daily history of Barcelona.” Pilar Villuendas set up her studio in the mid 1970s. Looking through the designs compiled in this recently published book “Barcelona, Urban Iconography in Transition”,...
Garbayo’s paper creatures
“Garbayo, el grafismo valiente” is a book that Fermín Garbayo’s children have affectionally and thoughtfulness put together. It is an homage that covers the brilliant activity of one of the geatest names whitin the Spanish graphic design community. As Pepe Cruz Novillo wrote in Garbayo´s obituary in the newspaper “El País”: ‘Fermín had been one of most...