DePaul University Art Museum hosts Premiere Screening of "Freedom on the Fence"

Written by Barry Weisman Monday, 13 July 2009 21:11

CHICAGO, IL.- The DePaul University Art Museum will host the Chicago premiere screening of “Freedom on the Fence,” a film documenting the brilliant and paradoxical art of Polish poster design, starting with a reception at 5 p.m. July 28th at the DePaul University Art Museum, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago. The 40-minute film explores the history of Polish posters and details their changing significance in the social, political and cultural life of the country from World War II through the fall of Communism.

Zygmunt Matynia, consul general of the Republic of Poland, and Martin Rosenberg, executive producer of “Freedom on the Fence,” will attend the reception and screening. The reception runs from 5 to 7 p.m., and the film will be screened at 6 p.m.; a selection of Polish posters from the museum’s collection also will be on view.

These colorful and powerful posters announcing political, cultural and social events hung from the many construction fences erected in Warsaw and other cities in Poland following World War II, infusing the gray streets with color and transforming the streets into a public art gallery. “Freedom on the Fence” examines how artists working under political restrictions developed a distinctive approach to graphic design, infused with charm, irony and inventiveness.

The digital documentary weaves together interviews (in English and in Polish with English subtitles) with many leading Polish poster artists, including a rare interview with the undisputed father of the movement, Henryk Tomaszweski, and commentaries from both American and Polish scholars on the significance of the Polish poster as a cultural icon.

Rosenberg is among the world’s foremost collectors and authorities on vintage Polish posters. He has spent more than 25 years building the most complete pre- and post-war collection of original posters representing the internationally recognized Polish School of Design, and he has made generous donations to DePaul’s art collection.

DePaul Art Museum
The Museum offers a wide variety of special exhibitions in all media throughout the year, from thematic and historical exhibitions to works by contemporary artists. Recent presentations include paintings, sculpture, printmaking and installation by contemporary Iraqi artists; early twentieth-century photographs by Eugene Atget and Berenice Abbott, and Old Master prints by such artists as Dürer, Cranach, Rembrandt and Goya. Lectures, concerts, and special events provide additional perspectives.

The DePaul University Art Museum is a 4,000-square-foot facility on the university’s Lincoln Park campus. Staffed by museum professionals, it serves as a focal point for teaching and discussion through visual arts and material culture. It supports the educational mission of the university through its collections, exhibitions, programs, and events, which allow both students and members of the wider community to explore broadly the visual representation of ideas over time and space. Its collections and programs are diverse, but strongly represent art of the Chicago area. Many of its projects are historical or thematic in focus, but the gallery has a commitment to showing contemporary art as a means of exploring aspects of our own culture.  Visit : http://museums.depaul.edu/artwebsite/

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