The Poster As a Curatorial Challenge

Line Hjorth Christensen

The Poster As a Curatorial Challenge

Line Hjorth Christensen

Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics

Abstract

This paper investigates the poster media from a curatorial perspective, focusing on the shift that occurs when posters are torn loose of their original living context and exhibited in museums. The shift is of a general museological relevance, however, is reinforced by posters’ distinct communicative and “visual aggressive” kind (Sontag 1970) and strong dependence on its environments. Applying an ecological view to design, mainly the semiotic notion of ‘counterability’ (Krampen, 2002) and the reciprocal relationship of humans and their built and product-designed environments, I suggest counterability to be a viable option for curatorial work. The concept is unfolded in a case study of a recent exhibition on British posters of the interwar years, held in 2015/16 at the Danish Poster Museum in the open air museum Den Gamle By in Aarhus, which I curated in collaboration with graphic designer Michael Jensen.

Original language	English
Publication date	22 Nov 2016
Number of pages	8
Publication status	Published - 22 Nov 2016
Event	15th NORDCODE Seminar: - on design and its mediations - SDU, Kolding, Denmark Duration: 22 Nov 2016 → 24 Nov 2016 Conference number: 15 http://www.nordcode.net

Conference

Conference	15th NORDCODE Seminar
Number	15
Location	SDU
Country/Territory	Denmark
City	Kolding
Period	22/11/2016 → 24/11/2016
Internet address	http://www.nordcode.net

Keywords

Faculty of Humanities

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Cite this

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AB - This paper investigates the poster media from a curatorial perspective, focusing on the shift that occurs when posters are torn loose of their original living context and exhibited in museums. The shift is of a general museological relevance, however, is reinforced by posters’ distinct communicative and “visual aggressive” kind (Sontag 1970) and strong dependence on its environments. Applying an ecological view to design, mainly the semiotic notion of ‘counterability’ (Krampen, 2002) and the reciprocal relationship of humans and their built and product-designed environments, I suggest counterability to be a viable option for curatorial work. The concept is unfolded in a case study of a recent exhibition on British posters of the interwar years, held in 2015/16 at the Danish Poster Museum in the open air museum Den Gamle By in Aarhus, which I curated in collaboration with graphic designer Michael Jensen.

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M3 - Paper

T2 - 15th NORDCODE Seminar

Y2 - 22 November 2016 through 24 November 2016

ER -

The Poster As a Curatorial Challenge

Abstract

Conference

Keywords

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Cite this