1970S-80S IMAGES AT DREXEL.
POLISH POSTERS, FITFUL, STUNNING
By Victoria Donohoe
For The Inquirer
At first glance, "The Polish Poster" exhibit at Drexel, featuring 1970s and '80s work, might seem like a daring preemptive strike on an otherwise becalmed art scene.
But by the '70s and '80s Polish poster artists were actually toning down their previous deliberate provocation of authority and starting to go the diplomatic route, toward subtlety.
Even so, the 51 featured posters of that period are so strong in their voiceless intensity that they become major elements in an awesome drama of time and memory. And besides being nourished by the national aspirations of the Polish people, the work often captures a sad, resonant beauty.
Stunning work, yet so different in character from anything in our own American poster tradition, it evolved as poster artists tried to balance official demands and constraints with the desire to express the underlying messages of their countrymen, especially about various freedoms.
Subjects range from Polish and American film and theater and sports contests to consumer products, the Solidarity movement, police matters and religion.
What's most remarkable about these posters is their ambition to find artmaking possibilities that always manage to reflect a vital and probing restlessness. Very noticeable in that regard are the many exceptionally poignant facial expressions.
The display's particular strength and depth is its focus on so-called second- and third-generation Polish poster tendencies. These include the introduction of imagery and symbols, and gradually a more nuanced and poignant criticism of officialdom in the post-Communist era.
All are from the rich reserves of 1,500 to 3,000 Polish posters that Drexel recently acquired from Professor Frank Fox. In this assured and impressive Philadelphia debut, there's a very deliberate, thought-out yet exploratory aspect that might mean further interesting developments to come from this treasure trove.
Drexel University's Westphal College in Nesbitt Hall, 3215 Market St. To Feb. 6. Mon-Thu 11-7, Fri 11-5. Free. 215-895-2548.
Community Arts Center
"In Person: A Celebration of the Human Form" is a new and ambitious type of competitive exhibit in Wallingford.
Bo Bartlett, a painter from Washington state, judged this theme show, which threw a wide net to attract distant entries. He picked 42 works by 35 artists, most of whom are from the region.
A confident and outstanding performance distinguishes two artists: painter Forrest Solis of Phoenix, and ceramic sculptor Alison Luoma of Lawrence, Kan. Eleanor Day's esteemable oil Easter, of three little girls in their spring finery on a Philadelphia doorstep, won best-in-show. And quite a few lively informal portraits are noted and warmly felt neighborhood scenes, as is Upper Darby artist Peter Smyth's charcoal nude "In Her Mirror."
Victor Grasso's development of challenging realist subject matter will be worth following, now that we've encountered the brooding presence of a pair of melodramatic large oils by this self-taught painter from Cape May. This is a good show.
Community Arts Center, 414 Plush Mill Rd, Wallingford. To Feb. 7. Mon-Thu 9-9, Fri 9-3, Sat 9-noon. Free. 610-566-1713.
Langman Gallery
Joan Scheckel of Warminster, in still-life collages with a high-gloss surface at Langman, pursues the idea of fecund, luxurious, romantic springtime, but her conceptual range as a realist is limited.
These images seem too familiar, too played out, and suggest a sentimental attitude toward the everyday.
Langman Gallery, 2500 Moreland Rd, Willow Grove Park. To Jan. 31. Mon-Sat 10-9:30. Free. 215-657-83