May 13, 2019
Artful Impact: The Posters of Abram Games
The Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography (HMCT) presents Artful Impact: The Posters of Abram Games. This comprehensive collection, on exhibit in the United States for the first time, will open with a reception on Saturday, May 18 from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m., in the South Campus Gallery. Acclaimed designer, film director, and protégé of Games, Arnold Schwartzman, will be sharing remarks at 5 p.m. Open to the public and free of charge, the exhibition runs through July 28, 2019.
British designer Abram Games (1914-1996) holds an important place in the legacy of twentieth-century graphic design. For more than five decades, he interpreted the social, political, and commercial pulse of his country by absorbing the influences around him and referencing them in his work. As a graphic thinker and social observer, Games created designs that commanded attention and sparked reactions. His works were often direct and deceptively simple: striking images joined compelling slogans rendered mostly in hand-drawn display lettering, to capture the eye, the mind and the heart. He followed tradition by using familiar objects, then embraced cutting-edge modernism by rendering those objects as simplified shapes or bold silhouettes that sometimes doubled as playful visual puns.
As the official designer of war posters for Britain during World War II, Games informed the citizenry as he implored them to take action on the home front. On display are several of his most celebrated war posters, including Join the ATS—aka the “Blond Bombshell,” a recruiting poster eventually withdrawn from circulation after heated Parliamentary debate. His later commercial poster work is represented by The Guinness ‘G,’ along with six of his British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) posters, and a collection of designs produced for London Transport and The Financial Times. The exhibition includes several of Games’ postage stamp designs, covers for Penguin Books, and a documentary on his life and work, Maximum Meaning, Minimum Means.
On Tuesday, May 21 from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., the HMCT will present In Conversation: Artful Impact, featuring speakers Naomi Games, daughter of Abram Games and author of several books about his work; David Mihaly, Jay T. Last Curator of Graphic Arts and Social History at The Huntington Library; and Professor Gloria Kondrup, executive director, HMCT. A reception and an informal tour of Artful Impact with Naomi Games will follow.
The exhibition was curated by Lavinia Lascaris and David Mihaly, and designed by Lavinia Lascaris with HMCT Creative Director Simon Johnston.
Artful Impact: The Posters of Abram Games is organized by the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography and made possible by the generous support of the Lowell Milken Family Foundation.
ArtCenter College of Design’s HMCT South Campus Gallery is located at 950 South Raymond Avenue in Pasadena, Calif., 91105. For more information, contact hmct@artcenter.edu or call 626 396-4343.
South Campus Gallery Hours:
8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Sunday
Closed Holidays (Memorial Day, May 27 and Independence Day, July 4).
HMCT Hours:
9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday
Closed Holidays (Memorial Day, May 27 and Independence Day, July 4).
All other times, by appointment only.
Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography
ArtCenter College of Design
950 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91105
Social Media:
@hmctartcenter (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter)
#hmctartcenter
@artcenteredu
The Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography (HMCT) at ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 2015 in memory of Professor Leah Hoffmitz Milken, a renowned typographer, letterform designer and esteemed faculty member at ArtCenter. HMCT is dedicated to every aspect of the typographic field. Created to serve as a home, and catalyst, for the enhanced study of typography and letterform design, the Center serves as an educational forum, design laboratory, research center, and archive. As a meeting place for learning, discussion, and the exchange of ideas and skills, the HMCT presents workshops, special classes, symposia, lectures, exhibitions, and residency programs.
About ArtCenter: Founded in 1930 and located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. ArtCenter offers 11 undergraduate and seven graduate degrees in a wide variety of industrial design disciplines as well as visual and applied arts. In addition to its top-ranked academic programs, the College also serves members of the Greater Los Angeles region through a highly regarded series of year-round educational programs for all ages and levels of experience. Renowned for both its ties to industry and its social impact initiatives, ArtCenter is the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status. Throughout the College’s long and storied history, ArtCenter alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.
Contacts:
Teri Bond
Director, Media Relations
ArtCenter College of Design
teri.bond@artcenter.edu
626 396-2385
Clifford Pun
Coordinator
Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography
clifford.pun@artcenter.edu
626 396-4343
