Vladislav Rostoka, Posters and Graphic Design. Exhibition poster, 198l.

The work of Vladislav Rostoka is in a different category. His clearly defined, very distinctive visual language is based on his ability to reduce multiplicity to simplicity and is halfway between illustration and symbol design.

Karel Teisseg, Radical Solution. Film poster, 1983.

Photography seldom appears in its pure form. Many artists use it in their collages and montages. Karel Teisseg, who first introduced collages in his film posters, uses unaltered fragments of materials for their metaphoric value. In contrast, his latest silk-screened theater posters reflect his evocative illustrative style.

In comparison to film, theater, and exhibition posters, designs promoting industrial products historically have been in a minority,

Petr Sejdl, Disarm. Peace poster, 1988.

possibly because so many of the products, especially cars, are in such short supply. Usually promotion concerns the publishing industry. Under Communist regimes, various government agencies commissioned, at regular intervals, socially engaged commemorative and other political posters. Often the designers faced considerable restrictions in solving the potential conflict between the message and the visual format in which it was presented. Petr Sejdl's antiwar poster of missiles makes a direct statement. Radomir Postl's design commemorating the takeover of power by the Communist

Radomir Postl, Victorious February 1948. Political poster.

Party in 1948 shows, however, an unexpected ambiguity: the huge fist of the working class is holding a miniscule red flag symbolizing the ideals of Communism.

When Dana Bartelt collected the posters for the exhibition, she did not realize that they would be examples of the Czechoslovak artistic endeavor of an era what would soon come to an end. It was an era in which the government had a monopoly on virtually everything, including the film and publishing industries. Nothing could be printed without the approval of a state commission, and works with religious or "decadent" connotations were not approved for publication. The commissioned work could be sold only through a state agency, for a predetermined sum. An artist could not employ any design staff, for to do so would constitute a private agency. She could not own a printing press without a special dispensation. On the other hand, book publishing, the film industry, theaters, orchestras, museums, and all other cultural institutions existed on state subsidies and could afford to pay for beautiful illustrations, multicolored posters, and other promotional materials.

With the profound change in Czechoslovakia's political and economic climate, all of this changed. For one, after the events of 1989, the Czech Republic and Slovakia went their separate ways. Aside from the magnitude of severing decades-long ties between the countries, this has also meant that the government has ceased to be both watchdog and financial supporter of the arts. With newfound freedom of expression has come the need for financial self-sufficiency and expectations of not only an artistic, but also a commercial, success. There is no doubt, however, that the artists who have produced such excellent work under political repression will continue to thrive in times of freedom and independence.

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