WHO WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER

 The film poster has been with us since the birth of cinema in the 1890's. For many of us alive today, films are the art form that we have been most exposed to. They have had a profound impact on; our attitudes, our knowledge, our experience and our culture. The primary purpose of the film poster is to create the desire, the want, the need to go to the cinema and buy a ticket to watch the film. This task requires the artist to really capture the imagination of ordinary people. Sometimes with a subtle tease, sometimes with an explosion of colour, movement and drama.

With artistic styles that range from; photorealistic, to psychedelic, to graphic, to abstract, to surreal many posters stand alone as accomplished works of art. The most coveted being the posters that perfectly compliment excellent or much loved films. However there are also excellent and coveted posters of terrible films and terrible posters of excellent films. The latter has contributed to a growing market for new limited edition posters created by artists celebrating their favourite cult or classic films

The collection featured in this exhibition are significant cinema posters from the 70's, 80's, 90's and one or two gems from the 2000's. Significant because of their wonderful artwork, their story, their cultural impact or just for how much they were loved and enjoyed.
The majority if not all the posters featured in this exhibition were printed using the technique of offset lithography. A fascinating process that blends artisanal skill, chemical and mechanical engineering and human collaboration. Please note we have included a description of the offset lithography process in an exhibition summary that accompanies this one.

We also feature a collection of rare Original Vinyl Soundtracks of the era. The importance of the film soundtrack cannot be overstated. In so many cases the power of the soundtrack has elevated a B movie to the status of an epic.

Finally, from the days of independent video shops (1980 to 2010), a collection of very rare original video shop standees and original big box ex rental VHS video tapes. These are the treasures of the relatively short-lived cultural phenomenon that was a part of everyday life for a generation and yet, within the space of just 30 years, they went from being everywhere to being nowhere.

Read about 'The Magic of Offset Lithography' here

 

Exhibition Opening Hours:

 

6th - 30th November 

Mon - Thur 9:30 - 5:30 pm | Fri: 9:30 am - 4 pm 

Address: Gallery House, 50 Baker Street, London W1U 7BT

For more information and to book an appointment contact marianne@cultvision.com