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The Year in Posters: 1920
Our virtual exhibition takes the unique approach of looking at posters from our collection from just one year - 1920. How do they reflect the world in which they were created, following the epic upheavals of World War I, the Spanish Flu Epidemic, and the Bolshevik Revolution? One hundred years later, will some of these themes be repeated in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic?
We see seven major themes through the year, and feature posters for each in the sections below.
1. Reconstruction & Recovery from WWI
Reconstruction was the most obvious theme seen in 1920, for both victors and vanquished alike. Bond and relief posters were printed to help raise the massive amounts of money needed for rebuilding infrastructure, restarting businesses and carrying out relief efforts, which were stretched beyond their limits in a world flooded with refugees.
2. Communism & the Rise of Radical Ideologies
During the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 – 1921, the Soviets published roughly 3600 poster designs to create the first Communist state, and in the process, the world's first truly modern propaganda machine. A world view of fear and anxiety led to the rise of totalitarianism (and political posters) on both the left and right, with instability created in countries like Germany, which struggled with war debts and a dangerous power vacuum.
3. Home & Hearth: A Return to Life’s Simple Pleasures
The end of WWI meant a return to home and family; we see posters for furnishings and home design as people refocus their efforts. We also see the first posters for cigarettes and spirits as factories (and printing presses) turn to non-war output.
4. The Rebirth of Pleasure Travel
The world of travel slowly reopened as recovery took hold. It began with domestic travel, especially to places easily reachable by train, such as coastal resorts. More exotic destinations also were appealing, especially if easily reached by boat (North African Mediterranean countries, for example).
5. Back on the Town: Entertainment
Cities slowly came to life as they cleaned out from the rubble. Everything from the corner cafe, to dinner and dancing, theater and music revived slowly but steadily as the Twenties proceeded.
6. A Revolution in Fashion
Carefully designed bond campaigns had kept money from flowing to luxuries during the war. By 1920, fashion and beauty tentatively flowered anew for an elite audience in major cities such as Paris, Berlin, London and Shanghai. Exquisite posters for Department stores and limited edition print portfolios catered to a pent up demand for beauty with an updated Moderne look more in keeping with the times.
7. The Explosion of Modern Art Movements
World War I unleashed the impulses of Modernism that had begun around the turn of the century; new offshoots of Cubism, Futurism and Fauvism took hold. Art Nouveau gave way in posters to an early phase of Art Deco, called Style Moderne, which featured simplicity and abstraction in a graceful and elegant way. A more violent and aggressive style was found in German Expressionism, with its barely contained explosiveness which expressed the angst of the time.