Uncanny Design and Surrealism BARBICAN

Uncanny:
Surrealism
and Graphic
Design
international enterprises
1 Synopsis
2 List of Selected Works
3 Selected Installation shots
4 Selected Press cuttings
2
3
Uncanny:
Surrealism and
Graphic Design
4
1
5
1 Karel Teissig, Karel Kachyna: Posledn

motl (The Last Butterfly), 1990, The Moravian
Gallery in Brno.
2 Josef Vyletal, Frantiek Filip: Hrdina m
strach, 1965, private collection.
3 Jindrich tyrsk, Bohuslav Brouk:
Psychoanalysa, 1932, The Museum of Czech
Literature (PNP), Prague.
4 Josef Vyletal, Alfred Hitchcock: Ptci
(The Birds), 1970, The Moravian Gallery in
Brno.
5 Stefan Sagmeister, Les Silos
Chaumont, 2005, The Moravian Gallery in
Brno.
Uncanny:
Surrealism
and Graphic
Design
Synopsis
Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design, conceived and
curated by Rick Poynor for the Moravian Gallery in Brno, is the
first major exhibition to explore the influence of Surrealism on
graphic image making and graphic design. Other areas of
visual Surrealism art, photography, film and architecture
have received extensive investigation by scholars and curators,
but the applied graphic sphere has tended to be overlooked,
despite the periodic resurgence of surrealistic forms of practice.
The Surrealist movement of the 1920s and 1930s focused on
literature, painting, photography and the object, and the
Surrealists initial publishing activities provided only hints of
what a fully conceived Surrealist graphic design or typography
might look like. Many of the most suggestive early examples
came from Czechoslovakia, where Surrealism would become
a lasting influence. Subsequently, Surrealist ideas and images
had a profound impact on image makers in every sphere of
art and design, and by the 1960s the effects of Surrealism were
widely felt in international graphic communication. Uncanny
traces this intermittent line of development from its origins up
to the present.
The exhibitions title Uncanny derives from an essay by pioneer
psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud written in 1919, in which he states
that a feeling of a mental distress (which he terms unheimlich
in German, literally unhomely) arises when an emotional
perception suppressed in the past returns to the consciousness
in response to an inexplicable experience or stimulus and
becomes an internal burden. At the same time, the reference
to Freud in the title notes that his psychoanalytical approach to
exploring the subconscious went on to form the philosophical
basis of Surrealism and its creative methods. In many Surrealist
pictures the most ordinary and common things turn into
symbols that are suddenly strange or unnerving. Like Freud,
the Surrealists believed that mental movements and motives
were demonstrated most clearly in the unconscious. Dreams
represent scenes from this hidden area, which is why Surrealist
art has repeatedly featured remarkable images born in the
imagination. This aspect of Surrealism chiefly influenced later
generations of graphic artists.
Rather than documenting a coherent group activity or
movement, the powerfully engaging graphic material selected
for Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design more than
250 items including posters, prints, book covers, and films
Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design

/Synopsis
from across Europe and USA underpins the existence of an

alternative graphic tradition whose creators way of thinking
and imagining is attuned to the Surrealist sensibility.
A wide array of posters in the exhibition confronts viewers
with curiously transformed, dreamlike characters (Jan Lenica,
Franciszek Starowieyski, Josef Vyletal), grotesque apparitions
(Jonathon Rosen, Elliott Earls), demonic beings (Roman
Cieslewicz, Karel Teissig) and creatures from other worlds
floating through indefinite space (Andrzej Klimowski, Eva
vankmajerov). These images have retained their ability to
fascinate and generate disquiet, which proves that they keep
on affecting the viewers unconscious.
Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design is divided into
seven thematic sections and reveals how some of the main
topics investigated by Surrealist artists have been, and still
are, fascinating artists and designers internationally. The
themes explored include the intriguing power of the images
metamorphosis; the lexicon of anatomical images and the
fragmented human body; the inexplicable juxtaposition of
fortuitous objects; the female figure as avatar of desire; and
the use of psychic automatism to freely express the unconscious.
The exhibition also includes an historical section with
illustrations for Surrealist publications in the 1930s, such as
the journal Minotaure (193339), alongside greatly influential
collages and graphic works by Max Ernst as well as historical
and contemporary examples of visual experimentation with
the moving image. The result is a collection of challenging and
strikingly compelling graphic images and designs produced
throughout the second half of the 20th century up to the present.
The exhibition features the work of designers and graphic
artists such as Jan vankmajer, Eva vankmajerov, Jindrich
tyrsk, Karel Teige, Karel Teissig, Josef Vyletal, Zdenek Ziegler
(Czechoslovakia); Roman Cieslewicz, Jan Lenica, Franciszek
Starowieyski, Bronislaw Zelek (Poland); Laboratoires CCCP,
M/M Paris (France); Andrzej Klimowski, Vaughan Oliver, Quay
Brothers, Graham Rawle (UK); Elliott Earls, Edward Fella,
Jonathon Rosen, Stefan Sagmeister, Brian Schorn (USA).
A fully illustrated catalogue with an introductory essay by Rick
Poynor will be available.
/1
Uncanny:
Surrealism
and Graphic
Design
1 Synopsis
3 Selected Installation Shots
4 Selected Press Cuttings
Salvador Dal
Gala, 1936
Minotaure no. 8
magazine cover, 31,5 x 24,5 cm
The Moravian Gallery in Brno
Photo: MG Archive
Toyen
Andr Breton, Spojit ndoby, 1934
Book, 19,7 x 13,5 cm
Private collection
Foto: MG archive

/List of Selected Works
/1
M/M (Paris)
Ingeborg Bachmann: Tout, 2006
poster, 172 x 116,5 cm
Pierre Faucheux
Andr Breton: Anthologie de lhumour noir,
1966
book cover, 16,6 x 11 cm
Private collection
Zdenek Palcr
Rolf Thiele: Morlka 63 (Moral 63), 1965
poster, 80 x 59 cm
The Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague
Karel Vaca
May Spils: K veci, milcku (To the Point, Darling), 1968
poster, 80,8 x 57,5 cm

/2
M/M (Paris)
Witness Screen, cran Tmoin, 2002
Poster, 175,5 x 118,5 cm
Foto: MG archive
Max Ernst
Une Semaine de Bont, 1934
Artist book, 28 20,6 cm
Private collection
photo: MG Archive

/3
Franciszek Starowieyski
Strindberg, The Dance of Death, 1974
Poster, 82 57,5 cm
Private collection
Foto: MG archive
Marion Bataille
La Posie Surraliste, 2001
book cover and spreads
Marion Bataille
photo: MG Archive
Vaughan Oliver, Tim Vary (designers) &
Simon Larbalestier (photographer)
Paysage aprs la bataille, 1998
Poster, 62 x 41,5 cm
Vaughan Oliver
Foto: MG archive
Jan vankmajer
Bilderlexikon, Zoologie, Tab. 18, 1972
collage, 45 x 33 cm
Jan vankmajer
photo: MG Archive
Benbo George
Particles, 2008
collage print, 32,6 x 29,6 cm
Benbo George
Photo: MG Archive
/4
Eva vankmajerov
Jan vankmajer: Alice, 1987
poster, 58 x 85 cm
Stefan Sagmeister
Everything I Do Always Comes Back to Me, 2002
enlarged magazine spreads, 60 x 78 cm (1 and
2 of 6 pieces)
Stefan Sagmeister
enlarged magazine spreads, 60 x 78 cm (3 and
4 of 6 pieces)
Stefan Sagmeister
enlarged magazine spreads, 60 x 78 cm, (5 and
6 of 6 pieces)
/5
Karel Teissig
Mlad Trless, 1967
Poster, 79,5 x 57,5 cm
Foto: MG archive
Ed Fella
Ed Fella in Stockholm, 2003
Poster, 43 x 28 cm
Ed Fella
Foto: MG archive
/6
Roman Cieslewicz
Zoltn Vrkonyi: Katastrofa, 1961
poster, 84,5 58,5 cm
photo: MG Archive
Hans Bellmer
Poupe, 1935
Minotaure no. 6
magazine spread, 31,5 x 50,5 cm
photo: MG Archive
John Gall & Ned Drew

The Box Man by Kobo Abe, 2001
Book poster, 20,2 x 13 cm
John Gall
Foto: MG archive
Karel Teissig
Karel Kachyna: Posledn motl (The Last
Butterfly), 1990
Poster, 82 57 cm
Photo: MG Archive
/ List of Selected Works
/7
Elliott Earls
Photography, 2008
Poster, 98,5 65 cm
Elliott Earls
Foto: MG archive
Jonathon Rosen
Snake Eyes no. 2, 1992
magazine cover, 27,5 21,4 cm
Jonathon Rosen
photo: MG Archive
/8
Jindrich Heisler & Frederick Kiesler

Non no. 2, 1948
magazine cover (facsimile), 61,5 x 40 cm
The Museum of Czech Literature (PNP), Prague
Franciszek Starowieyski
Alban Berg: Lulu, 1979
poster, 91,5 x 67 cm
Private collection
Rudolf Nemec
Jaromil Jire: Valerie a tden divu (Valerie and
Her Week of Wonders), 1970
Jan vankmajer
Jan vankmajer: Zahrada (The Garden)
1968
/Selected Installation shots
/9
Andrzej Klimowski
Fiodor Dostojewski: Biesy (The Devils), 1980
poster, 83 x 58 cm
Private collection
Yves Tanguy
Paul luard & Andr Breton: Dictionnaire
abrg du Surralisme, 1938
illustrated book, 24 ,2 x 16 cm
The Museum of Czech Literature (PNP), Prague
Brian Schorn
Kathy Acker, 1994
Private collection
/10
Zdenek Ziegler
Karel Zeman: Ukraden vzducholo(The Stolen
Airship), 1967
poster, 82 x 58 cm
Karel Teige
Vtezslav Nezval: ena v mnonm csle, 1935
book cover, 22 x 14 cm
Private collection
Grandpeople
Vagant no. 4, 2007
magazine cover and spread with illustration, 28
x 21 cm
Private collection
Roman Cieslewicz
Alphabet for the book Guide de la France
mystrieus, 1964
25 letters, 21 x 14,5 cm
Jindrich Heisler
Alphabet, 1952
25 letters, 21 x 14,5 cm
/11
Uncanny:
Surrealism
and Graphic
Design
1 Synopsis
The Moravian Gallery

Brno, Czech Republic
22 June - 24 October 2010


/1



/2



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/4
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
24 September - 4 December 2011
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Kunsthal Rotterdam
/5
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Kunsthal Rotterdam
/6
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Kunsthal Rotterdam
/7
Kunsthal Rotterdam
Kunsthal Rotterdam

/8
Uncanny:
Surrealism
and Graphic
Design
1 Synopsis
2 Selected List of Works
The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

/Selected press cuttings
The New York Times, 4 August 2010
/1

The New York Times, 4 August 2010
/2

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010
/3

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/9

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Divnost a grafick design

aneb Cosi tsnivho: Surrealismus a grafick design
Marta Sylvestrov
Vstava Cosi tsnivho: Surrealismus a grafick

design, pipraven hostujcm britskm
kurtorem Rickem Poynorem se t velkmu
zjmu nvtvnk letonho Bienle grafickho
designu v Brn. Vyvolala ohlas vznamnch
zahraninch mdi francouzskou verzi
vstavnho katalogu otiskl francouzsk asopis
tapes No. 183, recenzi vstavy a rozhovor
Stevena Hellera s autorem vstavy pinesl
4. srpna denk The New York Times Today.
Moravsk galerie v Brn jedn nyn
o zahraninch reprzch s londnskm
vystavovatelem Barbican Centre Enterprises.
Poprv navtvil Rick Poynor Bienle Brno ped

deseti lety. Byl pedsedou mezinrodn poroty
a jeho prezentace manifestu First Things First
2000 o odpovdnosti psoben grafickch
designr vyvolala na brnnskm mezinrodnm
designrskm sympoziu nejivj diskusi. Kdy
byl ped rokem osloven, aby na letonm
Bienle Brno prezentoval svj projekt, kter
odr jeho osobit pohled na souasn grafick
design, oekvali mnoz, e se jako autor
zsadnch publikac o nov digitln typografii
(Typography Now: The Next Wave, 1991;
Typographica, 2001; No More Rules: Graphic
Design and Postmodernism, 2003) zam
na uveden tma. Rick Poynor vak uvedenm
vstavy Cosi tsnivho: Surrealismus a grafick
design piznv svj dlouholet zjem
o umleck smr, kter ho, jak piznv,
od kolnch let fascinuje. Surrealistick hledn
zzrana je vzvou k hledn poezie, intenzity
a smyslu pro podivno v kadodennm ivot.
Vm, e odpovd naim hlubokm vninm
potebm, kter vichni jako humnn bytosti
mme, sdluje Rick Poynor. Nzev vstavy
Uncanny (v nmin unheimlich nezvykl,
divn, podivn) zvolil autor podle mn
znmho eseje Sigmunda Freuda,

publikovanho v etin v roce 1919 pod
nzvem Cosi tsnivho, nebo podle jeho nzoru
nejlpe vystihuje pocit tko vysvtlitelnho
psychickho rozruen, podivnch pocit
vyvolanch vnmnm surrealistickho umn.
Divnost je konceptem, kter stoj v poped
zjmu souasnho kulturnho kriticismu a ada
kurtor se tomuto fenomnu soustavn vnuje
(viz souasn zjem o dekadenci anebo
tzv. shocking art). Poynora vak nezajmaj
autoi, kte ve sv grafick tvorb vyuvaj
surrealistick symboliky jako vrazovho
prostedku grafickho sdlen. Podrobil vbr
autor pro vstavu psnmu kritriu
autenticity, j je soustavn surrealistick
mentalita umlce, jeho surrealistick zpsob
ivota a osobit nazrn svta spektrem
surrealismu. Autory zastoupen na vstav
necharakterizuje spolen systmov vizuln
jazyk, ale existuj v jejich tvorb po desetilet
se navracejc tmata, jimi se soustavn
zaobraj, jako napklad polymorfn
transformace obraz, fragmentace tlesnch
st a vnitn tlesn anatomie, symbol oka jako
ikony surrealistick obraznosti, slovnkov
Toyen, eskoslovensko, Andr Breton, Spojit ndoby, 1934
Karel Teissig, eskoslovensko, Mlad Trless, 1967
Franciszek Starowieyski, Polsko, Mademoiselle, 1970
knin oblka, 19,7 x 13,5 cm, 1934, soukrom sbrka
plakt, 79,5 x 57,5 cm, 1967, Moravsk galerie v Brn
plakt, 84 x 58 cm, Dydo Poster Gallery, Krakov
Foto: Moravsk galerie v Brn

Typografia, no. 1217, vol. 113, October 2010
/19

Lidove noviny, 17 Sep 2010
/20
Hospodarske noviny , 17 Aug 2010
Brnensky denik , 14 Aug 2010

/21
A2 Magazine, 18 Aug 2010

/22

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Uncanny:

1 Karel Teissig, Karel Kachyna: Posledn

Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design

from across Europe and USA underpins the existence of an

Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design

Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design

Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design

John Gall & Ned Drew

Jindrich Heisler & Frederick Kiesler

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

The Moravian Gallery

Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design

Uncanny: Surrealism and Graphic Design

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

The New York Times, 4 August 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

The New York Times, 4 August 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

The Moravian Gallery, Brno, 23 June - 24 October 2010

tapes: design et culture visuelle, July 2010

Divnost a grafick design

Vstava Cosi tsnivho: Surrealismus a grafick

Poprv navtvil Rick Poynor Bienle Brno ped

znmho eseje Sigmunda Freuda,

Toyen, eskoslovensko, Andr Breton, Spojit ndoby, 1934

Karel Teissig, eskoslovensko, Mlad Trless, 1967