ABOUT THIS PROJECT
We discovered the amazing power of Cuban poster art. First, Natalie Seisser, a graphic designer form Paris, came up to see us this year in April to show striking work from her Cuban designer friends. Lars Harmsen (editor of Slanted) went to Cuba this summer and met some of Natalie’s friends – as well as other artists and photographers. All of them are creating beautiful work, m
ore analogue than digital, with a very human and warm touch. How could we create wider awareness for their amazing work and give those artists an international voice? As editor of Slanted magazine, together with Markus Lange and Falko Gerlinghoff (Burg Giebichenstein, University of Art and Design), we thought it would be great to publish this special issue: CUBAN POSTER ART – The New Generation. Beyond ci**rs, American old timer cars and Che Guevara T-shirts Cuba has a strong tradition of graphic design. From the fifties until the embargo the county has been a major center for new ideas and creative design experiments. Nowadays the contrast is striking as there is in Cuba barely any publicity billboards, packaging, flyers, stickers, brands … They have all been replaced over the years by government propaganda posters but against all odds the spirit of creativity remains still much alive. Since the nineties a new generation of graphic designers has emerged and they hold on tight to the course of history. They are unfortunately still unknown and they strive to survive in a complicated economic and political situation without any means to be recognized by the rest of the world. HISTORICAL CONTEXT
During over fifty years of revolutionary power, the history and evolution of Cuba are connected to images and pictures. The society is based on culture and puts forward its creativity and diversity. Cuban poster production has reached its summit between the years 1965 and 1975. Artists and Graphic Designers have created their own efficient graphic language in order to educate and convey revolutionary ideals. The history of Cuban Graphic Design has seen then the birth of its masters. From the eighties, Cuba has suffered many economic difficulties due to the deterioration of exchanges with the USSR caused by falling of the socialist block. Material means became scarce in the studios and orders were rare, the poster was – as a consequence – no more a nation priority. A majority of graphic designers decided to leave the country and a part of the island culture disappeared with them. In 1984, the government opens the first Graphic Design School in the country, the ISDI (Superior Institute of Industrial Design) with the target to train professionals in the Design and Communication sector. Five years later, the first Graphic Designers graduate, start to work and boost the poster production. Little by little the organisms work again with this new generation and the history of Cuban Graphic Design is revived. GOAL: PUBLICATION AND EXPOSITION
This special issue of Slanted, CUBAN POSTER ART – The New Generation, will be released in spring 2013, attracting attention to an international level. This project has the goal to raise € 10,000 (≈ $ 13,000). We want to cover extra expenses we usually don’t have:
1. For an exhibitions with original silkscreened posters, touring from city to city. Shipping, organization and insurances for first shows in Berlin, Leipzig and Paris will cost € 4,000 (≈ $ 5,167)
2. Translations: The magazine will be bilingual (Spanish/English). With a volume of 320 pages we will have to translate all interviews and texts either to English or Spanish. This needs to be done professionally and will be € 4,500 (≈ $ 5,813)
3. Additional print of 1,000 copies that will be shipped to Cuba. Whoever has been in Cuba knows how hungry Cubans are for good printed matter. Extra printing: € 1,500 (≈ $ 1.938)
The funding of this project will enable us to share what we see as being an extraordinary inside view into Cuban design, reflecting the reality of life in Cuba and the beauty that lies within its complexity. SLANTED IS …
… an independent magazine; so dependent on you! We (Lars Harmsen, Flo Gaertner and Ulrich Weiss) are design junkies and borderline (okay, all-around) typography obsessives and met 1996. Since that time we run a small design studio in Karlsruhe, south Germany. It occurred to us one day in 2005 to put our heads together and work on a typography and design magazine we knew we’d be enthusiastic enough to give our nights and weekends to. We first launched a blog (www.slanted.de), today one of the most important in german speaking area. The magazine followed and became a source of inspiration and reference in the fields of creation, typography, graphics, illustration and photography. Meanwhile 20 issues of Slanted had been published. Blog and magazine won numerous awards, from TypeDirectors Club NY to Lead Awards Germany. We understand the need for delivering a high quality product. And we are Germans, means accurately as possible and on time. We will ship the issue to all our backers around the world within our promised delivery date, Spring 2013. Your happiness is our business!
