This brochure was published on the occasion of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s presentation of How Posters Work, originally conceived by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. The exhibition was curated by Ellen Lupton, senior curator of contemporary design, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. The presentation at the Milwaukee Art Museum was coordinated by Monica Obniski, Demmer Curator of 20th- and 21st-Century Design.

How Posters Work was organized by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

How Posters Work is sponsored by: The Terri and Verne Holoubek Family Foundation

Additional support provided by: Milwaukee Art Museum’s Print Forum

Exhibition education sponsor: Cargill

Additional Lenders to the Exhibition Merrill C. Berman John Rieben Museum of Wisconsin Art

cover Sonnenzimmerposter Sonnenzimmer; Writing Contributions: Nick Butcher, Nadine Nakanishi; Editor: Lauren Weinberg

Posters have a long history. Despite

the rise of digital media, the print poster

remains a vital and oftentimes radical form

of visual communication. This exhibition

explores the poster by celebrating the vision

of its designers, who have constructed

posters to sell a product, promote an event,

or argue a position. Some of the world’s

most creative designers have employed and

pushed the boundaries of two-dimensional

design, harnessed the mechanics and

psychology of perception, and mastered the

art of storytelling to produce powerful acts

of communication. And although the social,

political, and intellectual contexts surrounding

the production of these posters are important,

How Posters Work examines visual creativity

and the power of design. By focusing on

the use of design principles, the exhibition

encourages viewers to look critically at what

visually sets these posters apart.

“Despite the rise of digital media, the print poster remains a vital and oftentimes radical form of visual communication.”

Lucian Bernhard, Bosch, 1915. Collection of Merrill C. Berman.

The posters within the exhibition date from

the early twentieth century to the present

day. The style of poster known as Sachplakat

(object poster), which originated in Germany in

the 1900s, reduced the language of advertising

to one word and one image. The designs of

today, on the other hand, often employ varying

techniques to distort and create illusions for

artistic effect. The more than one hundred

posters are grouped into fourteen categories:

Focus the Eye

Overwhelm the Eye

Simplify

Cut and Paste

Overlap

Assault the Surface

Activate the Diagonal

Manipulate Scale

Use Text as Image

Tell a Story

Double the Meaning

Amplify

Make Eye Contact

Make a System

Posters in MilwaukeeIn 1922, Milwaukee embraced the artist’s

place in industry when it hosted the Associated

Advertising Clubs of the World (AACW).

Speaking at the convention, Dudley Crafts

Watson, the first director of the Milwaukee

Art Institute (a predecessor of the Museum),

predicted, “In the next few years, there

won’t be a great artist in America who won’t

be very proud to turn out an advertising poster

once in a while.” The nearly three thousand

club delegates in attendance at the conference

were invited to visit the art institute to see

a display of French and Japanese posters,

as well as designs by Milwaukee students.

Twenty-two thousand Milwaukee public

school students had dissected advertising

and created posters for the display. Of those,

twelve students were selected as exemplars

of arts education (illustrated above)—one

of whom was the well-known Wisconsin artist

Schomer Lichtner.

Midcentury Mad(wo)menSeveral Wisconsin designers are represented

in How Posters Work, with examples that

demonstrate their contributions to national

and international design discourse.

Best known for writing and illustrating many

picture books for children, Wisconsin native

Lois Ehlert apprenticed with local advertising

art studios early in her career. Ehlert attended

Milwaukee’s Layton School of Art (closed

as of 1974) and the University of Wisconsin–

Milwaukee and began working for herself

in the 1960s. She undertook many graphic

design projects for the Museum, but in this

exhibition, we celebrate Ehlert’s award-winning

designs for Manpower Temporary Services.

Ehlert’s expert use of color, clever linguistic

manipulations, and arresting designs rendered

these posters humorous as they helped

women feel more welcome in the workplace.

Emily M. Dorn, “How Can Our Public Schools Develop Poster Artists?” The Poster 14 (July 1, 1922): 21

Lois Ehlert, [ASDFJKL;], 1979. Gift of the artist. Photo by John R. Glembin

John J. Reiss used to design catalogues for

the Milwaukee Art Center (as the Museum

was formerly known). The Milwaukee resident

graduated from the Milwaukee State Teachers

College (a predecessor of the University

of Wisconsin–Milwaukee) and then studied

at Black Mountain College, an art school

in North Carolina, during a time when Josef

Albers was teaching his Bauhaus principles

there. Reiss worked as a designer in New

York (for Junior Bazaar and Fortune) before

returning to Milwaukee. In 1957, he began

creating catalogues for the art center, many

of which are displayed in the exhibition.

After he received national attention for his

designs of craft catalogues, the American

Craftsmen’s Council approached him to

design Amusements Is (illustrated above).

This catalogue cover demonstrates Reiss’s

strong understanding of color, his interventions

of text, and his use of several different

types of paper to create a whimsical package.

Wisconsin-born John Rieben is known for his

compelling logos. He attended the University

of Michigan and Indiana University before

Chicago graphic designer John Massey hired

him to work at the Container Corporation

of America. The manufacturer of corrugated

boxes was known for its modernist graphic

design and for encouraging a systematic

corporate identity for all its packaging and

marketing materials. Rieben later worked

(in various capacities—design director, creative

director, vice president) at the international

design firm Unimark International, the global

technology company Raychem Corporation,

and the print production and marketing firm

Mobium/RR Donnelley. He started teaching

graphic design at the University of Wisconsin–

Madison in 1989. Rieben’s poster designs—

from the 1960s through today—are based

on a grid, which accounts for their clarity.

He punctuates this grid with graphic

interludes, activating the design.

John J. Reiss, Amusements is..., 1964. Private collection.

John Rieben, A Is the First Letter of the Alphabet, 1965–66. Lent by John Rieben. Photo by John R. Glembin

In addition to the Wisconsin

mid-century graphic designers

whose works supplement

the exhibition, the Chicago-

based graphic art studio

Sonnenzimmer (Nick Butcher

and Nadine Nakanishi) was

commissioned to design

a limited-edition screenprint,

the entrance wall, the animated

exhibition interventions, and

the graphic identity for the

Milwaukee presentation

of the exhibition. The reverse

side of this publication

features a poster, designed

by Sonnenzimmer, with

the designers’ thoughts on

the exhibition and the future

of the graphic arts.

Opening Lecture + ReceptionThurs, March 30, 5:30–8 p.m. Lecture, 6:15 p.m.

Get first peek at the exhibition, following an insightful lecture with Ellen Lupton, curator of contemporary design at the Cooper Hewitt and director of the MFA in graphic design at Maryland Institute College of Art. The reception, with cash bar, will be held in Baumgartner Galleria. RSVP to designcircle@mam.org.

Gallery TalksTues, 1:30 p.m. April 4, May 23, and June 20

With Monica Obniski, Demmer Curator of 20th- and 21st-Century Design

Local Luminaries: Poster ProvocationThurs, April 6, 6 p.m.

Welcome five luminaries from the Milwaukee area to the exhibition as they share their unique perspectives about the works on view.

Adam Beadel, Team Nerd Press

Krisann Rehbein, design educator

John Rieben, graphic designer and professor emeritus, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Jena Sher, graphic designer

Dale Shidler, design professor, MIAD

Member Drink & ThinkThurs, April 13, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

Socialize with other Members over refreshments before curator Monica Obniski gives you an insider’s look at the exhibition. This event is a benefit for Members at the Art Advocate level ($175) and above. Space is limited. RSVP at 414-224-3284 or membership@mam.org.

Presenting Sponsor:

Kohl’s Art Generation Family Sundays: The Power of PostersSun, May 7, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Experiment with different combinations of words and pictures as you invent your own alphabet, create an advertisement, and design a book cover. Try your hand at drawing, collage, and printmaking, and even meet local designers!

Artist Talk: My Life in DesignSat, May 20, 2 p.m.

Get a first-person account of life as a designer, from local illustrator Lois Ehlert, in conversation with Barbara Brown Lee, the Museum’s chief educator emerita. Curator Monica Obniski will moderate the talk in Lubar Auditorium.

Artist Talk: SonnenzimmerThurs, June 8, 6 p.m.

Hear from Nick Butcher and Nadine Nakanishi of the Chicago-based graphic art studio Sonnenzimmer, as they discuss the poster process and their identity for the exhibition.

Sponsored by: Milwaukee Art Museum’s Print Forum