As part of our ongoing project to add images to our catalogue, our A&C Assistant Jennifer has been uploading some more of our poster collection. Here she tells us about her highlights from the collection, and the variety of poster designs and events advertised in the collection.
Our poster collection contains just over 450 items and so far images for around a third of these have been uploaded to the catalogue.
The posters relate to events at The Glasgow School of Art, like exhibitions, fashion shows, lectures, Activities Week events, or events relating to work by GSA student, staff and alumni. Many of the posters for GSA events were designed and printed in-house by students and members of staff.
I have been adding new entries and uploading images, which has been a great opportunity for me to see what we hold. I’m familiar with the posters from the fashion show over the years from a previous project, but the collection covers many more events than these. You may recognise these posters from our reading room if you have visited:
Poster advertising a Bruce Lacey lecture. Catalogue item: GSAA/EPH/10/109
Poster advertising a ceilidh with some famous names performing. Catalogue item: GSAA/EPH/10/51
Here are some of my favourites in the collection, and some posters you may be surprised by!
Poster for Glasgow European City of Culture 1990, GSAA/EPH/10/427
This poster with artwork by Willie Rodger advertised Glasgow as European City of Culture in 1990. I love the style of his artwork and seeing all the famous Glasgow landmarks, and I remember going to events that year with my classmates – happy days! There was a William Rodger in our catalogue already and whilst checking it was the right person to link to this poster, I found out that he was an art teacher at my high school (albeit a few years before I was there!). It’s lovely to have that connection with an item in our collection, which evokes such nice memories.
Poster for the 1988 Fine Art Degree Shows, featuring students siting on the steps of the Mackintosh Building GSAA/EPH/10/77
Some of the degree show posters include class photographs, so they’re a really great record for former students to look back and see their contemporaries. We hold these from a few different years, so there may be some faces you recognise if you studied at GSA!
Poster for a retiral dinner featuring artwork by Robert Stewart. Catalogue item: GSAA/EPH/10/57
Poster for a fashion show featuring artwork by Robert Stewart. Catalogue item: GSAA/EPH/10/101
The artwork on these posters by Robert Stewart is absolutely stunning and I love the detail in them. Robert studied at GSA in the 1940s and went on to teach here for over 30 years, including heading up the printed textiles department. We hold a large number of items designed and created by him in our collections, including storage jars and embroidery, as well as a wide range of posters.
Poster advertising exhibition showing the work of GSA alumni David Donaldson. Catalogue item: GSAA/EPH/10/421
Poster advertising exhibition showing the work of GSA alumni Sam Black. Catalogue item: GSAA/EPH/10/422
A large number of the posters advertise exhibitions, and many of these include artwork either created by or featuring the artist being exhibited. As you can also see from these posters, the exhibitions advertised in the posters don’t just cover Glasgow and Scotland, they represent exhibitions worldwide – these posters are for exhibitions of the work of GSA alumni in London and in Canada.
Printed textile poster. Catalogue item: GSAA/EPH/10/114
Printed textile poster. Catalogue item: GSAA/EPH/10/119
The majority of posters in our collection are printed on paper, but I was surprised to discover during our textile repackaging project nearly 2 years ago that some posters in our collection are printed on fabric, including those for the Gerry Taylor and Zandra Rhodes lectures above. These posters are also very large compared with some of the others we hold, at over a metre tall, and have been rolled on tubes before being stored in our textile plan chests.
So as you can see, our poster collection is wide and varied – why not have a look here at the images which have already been uploaded. Work is ongoing to add our posters and their images to the catalogue so keep an eye out for more appearing!
