Make a Poster

Activity Guide by Kate Kwasneski
Intern, Grinnell College Museum of Art

Look and Learn

Posters are images that can be considered both art and places to gather information. Posters can communicate about an event, they can advertise for a product or company, and they can even share an idea. Posters can also express political ideas and opinions and help communicate these ideas to a wider audience. Often, posters are temporary. They are not meant to be around forever, and usually do not last much longer than the end of the event they advertise. Posters did not become popular until the late 1800s, because in order to make many of them without spending a lot of money, designers had to use printmaking techniques that became more popular in this time period. In this guide, we will look at some posters that are permanent parts of GCMoA’s collection.

war protest exhibit june 20 through july 10 artworks for peace formed into a dove and at bottom of poster Bay Area Artists All media first unitarian church franklin and geary new mobilization west — Unknown, Art Works for Peace, 1968. Poster, 24 x 18 inches. Collections of Grinnell College Museum of Art, gift of Laura Chrisman. Featured in the Byron Randall Collection

This poster advertises an exhibition of art that was made to protest various wars. It has large areas of flat color, which is common to many posters. Posters often feature both text and images, and here we see an example of text formed into the shape of an image, with the dove in the center. What information can you find in this poster? For example: when was the exhibition? Can you find where it was held?

purple heart surrounded by lace, with black and white concentric circles red appearing to drip from the center onto the chest of a man bearing a small US flag — Miriam Zizmor, Purple Heart, 1968. Poster, 23 x 17.5 inches. Collections of Grinnell College Museum of Art, gift of Laura Chrisman. Featured in the Byron Randall Collection.

This poster combines large, flat areas of color with intricate details like the lines surrounding the heart. What do you think this poster is trying to convey? It’s harder to tell because of the lack of text on the poster, but look at the imagery and think about what it could mean.

bright yellow and black dog plane outside window says air force, text in black and white on floor appears stenciled — Bernice Sender, Friendly Persuasion, 1968. Poster, 23 x 17.5 inches. Collections of Grinnell College Museum of Art, gift of Laura Chrisman. Featured in the Byron Randall Collection.

This poster has its title written across the top, but there is not much other text to provide context. This poster has more elaborate imagery than the others. The floor has a texture, the barking dog has individual teeth. How does this image make you feel?

Hawk talons above white dove against blue sky green grass above military skeletonin dark grave — Miriam Zizmor, Hawk and Dove, 1968. Poster, 23 x 17.5 inches. Collections of Grinnell College Museum of Art, gift of Laura Chrisman. Featured in the Byron Randall Collection.

This poster has no words at all, but it uses blocks of color and the figures of two birds to convey its message. What could that message be? Think about what the dove symbolizes in art, and what it means that the hawk is putting the dove in danger. Often doves are used to symbolize peace. The artist used this poster to express that she thought peace was in danger, most likely because of the Vietnam War. She expressed her political opinions through art, and we now have a record of them wars later. What do you think about this poster?

Create

Come up with your own poster! You can create a poster about an event, a club, or an idea that you value (for example, you could make a poster about saving the environment, or about the next meeting of your environmental club). My poster shares information about the Art Club at the Grinnell-Newburg Middle School. You can make your poster physically, or you can create a digital poster like I did. I used the program Canva, which is free and includes many layouts and images.

Art Club with laptop brush and desk supplies. In text: Every Friday and 3:30 pm Make and talk about art with GCMoA

Write

Posters usually contain words as part of their information, so think about what information should be written on your poster to convey its message! Or, if you have made a poster with symbols and no words, think about creating a written explanation to go with your poster to help convey the message.