Mock-ups

Here are four mock-ups that I acquired from Florida based Cuban poster collector Irina, who in turn got them from the damp basement of the ICAIC in Cuba. Each one is painted on artistic board and provides the original artwork for a Cuban poster. These would have been passed to the printmaker who would have had to painstakingly cut the shapes out in each colour to do the silkscreening.

They are in rough condition but are unique and it's great to see some of the techniques of Cuban poster production revealed. On the back of each one are details of the colours specified by the artist and these would have been selected by the printer. The boards are all different sizes indicating an approach to poster production that relied on the materials available at that time. Where there is text to go on a poster the artist has used a randomly cutout piece of text from a publication and stuck it on to indicate where the text should go. The artists have also used cut out letters for the poster title and the printer has subsequently replaced these letters with the font of his or her choice. Bachs' posters use his own trademark lettering and these would have been cut out for the screening.

There are some interesting details on the reverse of the boards which I've tried to illustrate.

Here are the poster mock-ups and their backs:
Los Herederos - Niko





Senales Sobre la Ciudad - Bachs





Las Senoritas de Rochefort - Reboiro





Las Tres Noches de un Amor - Bachs





On the back of Bachs' poster for Tres Noches de un Amor is the instruction "20 affiches [posters] 4 Fidel" which may be an indication that some were destined for the Cuban leader. The jury's out on this one. Here's the close up:



We can also see a numbering system in place. I assume that each poster got a number and that these were controlled by the man with the purple crayon. Here are 428, 468, 639 and 651:









And colours. Here are a list of colours, and a list of colours that clearly didn't work:





Two of the four mock-ups that I have also appear to have a signature - approval maybe?





To see how small the originals are versus the finished poster I have taken a shot of these four against a full size poster:



And for you fanatics, here are hi res versions of all fronts and backs:
Los Herederos front
Los Herederos back
Tres Noches front
Tres Noches back
Senales front
Senales back
Las Senoritas front
Las Senoritas back

La Vieja Dama Indigna - Bachs 1966

This early poster by Bachs is less adventurous than his work of the late 60s. It is restrained, using a standard black font and straight layout, and follows the style of many early 60s international film and cultural posters by artists such as Saul Bass. The film is The Shameless Old Lady (La Vieille Dame Indigne) a 1965 French film from a Bertold Brecht story, about an old widow who blows her life savings as she ventures into the modern world to have fun, escaping her long life of living in qualor and poverty.

Las Parrandas - Reboiro 1979

I know nothing about the documentary by Constante Diego but Las Parrandas is a festival of fireworks and celebration on Christmas eve in Remedios, one of Cuba's oldest towns. The partying, originally designed to encourage the locals to attend midnight mass on Christmas eve, is wild, the processions and floats are extravagant and the crowds turn out in large numbers. This poster by Antonio Reboiro uses his trademark geometric design to convey the fireworks and fiesta in a very colourful image. This poster has had its border removed.

Jornada del Guerrillero Heroico - OCLAE

This fantastic poster from OCLAE, The Organización Continental Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Estudiantes or Continental Organization of Latin American and Caribbean Students, features a contemplative Che in simple two tone, to promote the Day of the Heroic Guerilla. A great poster from one of the lesser publishers of Cuban posters. I don't know the year and I can't read the signature in the corner of this cool poster.

Solidarity with Palestine - Abelenda 1968

This 1968 poster once again mixes a very serious political issue - the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine - with some inventive and bright graphics. The warm colours and psychedelic text create a positive vibe. The heroic armed character is the romantic view of the defender of Palestine. Cuban support of Palestine is typical of the anti-Western sentiment that flows through the graphics and iconography of its poster output.

Solidarity with Guinea - Lazaro 1970

The 1970 invasion of Guinea by Portugeuse-led forces was an attempted coup against the government of Ahmed Sékou Touré. Cuba was openly supportive of a number of African states as they repelled imperialist European forces in their struggle for independence. In Guinea the 1970 invasion failed but sparked a period of violent repression. Typically this fun 1970 OSPAAAL poster by Abreu Lazaro uses playful pop cartoon graphics to illustrate a very serious and bloody subject.

Day of the Heroic Guerilla - Martinez 1978

This OSPAAAL poster from 1978 by Olivio Martinez uses warm sun drenched colours to idolise Che whose capture by the CIA and Bolivian Special Forces in October 1967 is commemorated each year on the Day of the Heroic Guerilla. Che was killed a day later on 9th October 1967. The simple design shows a sombre Che deep in thought and gazing into the distance - a more mature image than some of the more playful Cuban posters which tend to reference pop and psychedelic art.

Hiroshima - Mederos 1970

This OSPAAAL poster from 1970 by René Mederos features a simple but very dramatic image of a victim of Hiroshima, to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing of the city by the Americans. The simplicity of the poster and the use of crazy colours is classic Cuban - mixing dramatic imagery, pop art colours and very simple graphics to deliver a powerful message.

Moncada - COR

Here's a very simple poster celebrating the 18th anniversary of the attack on the barracks at Moncada by the Cuban rebels on 26th July 1953, dating it to summer 1971. I don't know any other details about the poster other than it was produced for COR, the Comisión de Orientación Revolucionaria. This example has a water stain which adds to the charm.

Sao Paulo Sociedad Anonima - Oliva 1968

One of my favourite Cuban posters, Sao Paulo is for a classic of the Brazilian new wave. The film depicts an anonimous and difficult city life in Sao Paulo and paints a grim picture of life there. Thanks to Oliva's superb graphics which imitate Roy Lichtenstein's cartoon style this ICAIC poster is garish and dramatic, and it probably had a hard time conveying the negativity of the film.


Here's the opening scene:

Screenprinting at the ICAIC

I came across this short video of silkscreen poster production in progress at the ICAIC's facility in Havana.

Prop Art - Gary Yanker

Gary Yanker collected propaganda posters from the mid 1960s onwards and this collection of his posters is one of the best books if you're a fan of the genre. A massive tome, this book features 1,000 mostly black and white images of protest and propaganda posters from all over the world. Some classic Cuban posters are featured.

Gary is an obsessive collector - his short bio in the book mentions that he corresponded with over 500 agencies around the world to ask them for posters. In 1975 Gary donated all his posters to the Library of Congress. This is a great book for poster fans.

Revolución Cuban Poster Art - Lincoln Cushing

Lincoln's efforts to document Cuban posters puts him in the position of being the world's foremost expert on the country's primary graphic arts movement. His efforts to preserve the designs of the Cuban poster agencies have done what could never have been done in Cuba - both in terms of documenting and cataloging, and in sharing poster designs with a global audience.

In Cuba posters have been a tool of a political and cultural ideology that hasn't had the time, effort or resources to document its own work. Step in Lincoln and his associates who have photographed, re-touched, catalogued and shared Cuba's best graphic design. In the feature in Communication Arts magazine and this book, Lincoln's efforts are detailed and the result is the chance to see some very exciting posters. This book is essential.

For more info on the graphic arts visit Lincoln Cushing's Docs Populi page.

Tricontinental magazine - images of Che

Here's a sweet little booklet from OSPAAAL's Tricontinental magazine with around 25 posters featuring Che Guevara. Printed in Cuba, the paper is thin, the printing is a bit rough but as usual the images are great.

Elevando la Conciencia - 1974

This 1974 poster for the COR celebrates the anniversary of the triumph of the revolution with the famous image of the revolutionaries holding their weapons aloft against the Cuban flag, and a Soviet star.

Solidarity with Puerto Rico - Cordoba 1976

This great OSPAAAL poster by Rolando Cordoba is an example of the more funky Cuban pop art, borrowing its style from Western sports and pop music graphics. Puerto Rico's independence from the US was dealt a blow in the early 1970s as America took possession of more land and asserted its authority. Meanwhile the political struggle for independence continued with little success. This simple image of freedom for the common man illustrates Cuba's solidarity with the anti-imperialist movement.

Festival Internacional del Cine Joven - Reboiro 1970

Here's a nice simple poster from Reboiro making good use of his trademark geometric patterns and iconic blooming plant for a poster to promote the ICAIC's festival of children's cinema.

El Corte Verano - Azcuy 1968

El Corte Verano (Short is the Summer) is a Swedish love story set in the wilderness of Lapland. Various characters participate in love, jealously, tragedy and betrayal. I don't know the significance of Azcuy's psychedelic framing of the central character but it adds a very sixties twist to this unusual Cuban poster.

Cine Movil - Bachs 1969

A classic of classics of Cuban posters, this 1969 poster for the ICAIC's Cine Movil (Mobile Cinema) project is simplicity itself. Charlie Chaplin on wheels represents the mobile cinema - a lorry that travelled into the Cuban interior to show films to the campesinos. Bachs' poster for the ICAIC is great. Confident, fun and nicely childish. As a designer Bachs' preferred to produce posters for childrens' films and this is typical of his cheeky design ideas.

El Viento Distante - Bachs 1970

A Mexican experimental film with three directors and three parts sounds like a wacky idea but Bachs' poster for the ICAIC is restrained and formal with a proper typeface and simple three column layout. Once again his trademark use of simple colours and shapes define characters and make great use of silkscreen printing.