Political and cultural narrative and rhetorics of the image in the posters of the “Grapus” studio (1970–1990)

Abstract

The article concerns the peculiarities of development of political and cultural discourse and the problem of interpretation of the images of French poster art, considered on the example of the “Grapus” studio. Considerable attention is paid to the origins of the studio’s artistic concept, significantly influenced by the artistic views of the Situationists, namely their approaches to creating socially and politically engaged art. The author highlights the history and cultural background of the May 1968 events in Paris, which gave impetus to the formation of ideological platform and original artistic language of the “Grapus”. Creative activities of the studio are examined in the context of the “New wave” of graphic design, which is defined by the desire for experiment, pastiche, “layered” imagery, “indiscriminate vitality” of forms, stimulation and appeal to the viewer’s imagination and subconsciousness.

Keywords:

political and cultural narrative in modern graphic design, the events of May 1968 in Paris, the rhetoric of the artistic image, poster, “Grapus” studio, socially and politically engaged art, principles of the Situationist art, technique of détournement, the “New Wave” of graphic design, postmodernism