Weapons of Mass Communication - Imperial War Museum, 4 October 2007 - 30 March 2008

The Exhibition

WEAPONS OF MASS COMMUNICATION: WAR POSTERS the exhibition features hundreds of the most eye catching and iconic posters from the Imperial War Museum’s major international collection.

It explores how the greatest designers and advertisers of the day tried to influence the wills of soldier and civilian alike.

In the early part of the twentieth century the best posters were always striking, memorable, direct and often beautiful; but they served to carry the most potent of government messages.

Equally, in the latter part of the twentieth century the poster has become a significant tool of protest movements. From anti-Vietnam war activism to peace demonstrations, shocking and sometimes satirical protest posters carried on mass demonstrations have created their own news headlines.

The exhibition includes some 300 works, from the iconic images of Alfred Leete’s Kitchener recruitment poster, to the pioneering designs of Julius Gipkins, and Abram Games as well as the influential, contemporary graphics of Peter Kennard and David Gentleman.

Personality Posters
(after James Montgomery Flagg) c 1972