Confrontational, uncompromising, polarising and sometimes deeply unsettling (not to mention occasionally head-scratching) the posters Andrzej Klimowski created for the Polish film and theatre scene still stand as extraordinary works of art. This is graphic design on a level that’s almost madness, that seemingly has very little to do with the project it’s advertising but strikes directly at the subconscious and defies us to find out more.
Check out Klimowski’s image for The Omen and you’ll wonder what Terry Gilliam-esque circle of Hell it was conjured up from, but it will give you far more to think about than the poster of the little antichrist casting the shadow of an inverted crucifix which most of us are familiar with. And let’s not even get started on Klimowski’s renditions of Chinatown, Mystery Train, and Dead Man. Sometimes it’s like he hasn’t seen the films at all but is simply showing us what his version of the movie would be like if he had been behind the camera, but, of course, that’s a wild oversimplification and reduction of what makes Klimowski’s art so wonderful. These are posters that make Klimowski a collaborator as well as a publicist, that are both advertising medium and artistic commentary. If Bob Peak and Drew Struzan, etc. are the hyper-realists of movie poster art, creating images that are so exciting and photo-realistically lifelike they’re often more enticing than the films they promote, Klimowski is a shock-art terrorist who’s gone nuts with scissors and a glue-pen, laying down demonic montages that are so unique we can’t stop staring at them and who cares what this film’s actually about, we want to know more!
Some of the artist’s best work is in this collection, including a handful of book covers and exhibition posters. It’s not really an assortment you can dive into – it’s far too dark and uncomfortable for that and there’s only so much surrealist primal screaming you can tolerate in one go – but if you’re looking for art that will challenge your sensibilities and prove that a poster can have a philosophical life that is entirely separate from the product it’s advertising, this is well worth your consideration.
KLIMOWSKI POSTER BOOK / AUTHOR: ANDRZEJ KLIMOWSKI / PUBLISHER: SELFMADEHERO / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
