An Unknown Master of Poster Design

Karel Teissig might just be the best poster designer you have never, or barely ever, heard of. An exhibition of his work opened in Prague on March 24, organized by the indefatigable Terry Posters, and I’m using that event as an excuse to show a few more Teissig posters, not that I need any prompting.

READ MORE | COMMENTS (4)

Slicing Open the Surrealist Eyeball

Surrealism codified a poetic principle that has always existed as a possibility and still exists in life and art “after Surrealism.” “There is another world,” said Paul Éluard, “but it is in this one.” This, for me, is a guiding principle — the illuminating essence of the Surrealist revelation.

READ MORE | COMMENTS

What Does J.G. Ballard Look Like? Part 2

In a recent post about the British writer J.G. Ballard, I explored the idea of the “Ballardian” image and the ways that some designers and image-makers have interpreted it. Here, I want to consider an artist based in France whose paintings are the most Ballardian I have ever seen. So far as I am aware Peter Klasen has never been discussed previously in relation to Ballard or his writing.

READ MORE | COMMENTS

The Secret History of the Edgelands

Edgelands, a startlingly fresh and perceptive read, is subtitled Journeys into England’s True Wilderness, but the phenomenon it describes is not specific to England. These transitional zones, places of “possibility, mystery and beauty,” can be found anywhere that urban development meets open land.

READ MORE | COMMENTS (4)

Rick Poynor is a writer, critic, lecturer and curator, specialising in design, media and visual culture. He founded Eye, co-founded Design Observer, and contributes columns to Eye and Print. His latest book is Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design.

Recent Book

Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design
Rick Poynor
Moravian Gallery, 2010
More books by Rick Poynor >>

Design Observer Archive

2012
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2011
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January

2010
December
November

2008
December
June
February