Tribute to Poster Artist Waldemar Swierzy (1931-2013)

 

Waldemar Świerzy (1931-2013) was a polish artist, born in Katowice, Poland. Studied at the Cracow Academy of Fine Arts Department of Graphic Arts in Katowice under professor Jozef Mroszczak. He had subsequently been Professor in the University of Fine Arts in Poznań from 1965 and Professor in the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw since 1994. In 1992 the government of Poland issued a postage stamp to honor one of his Cyrk posters, ‘Clown with derby’ in 1992. From 1979 until 1997, served as President of the International Poster Biennale in Warsaw. Swierzy was one of the Polish School of Posters’ most prolific artists who created over 2500 posters!.

His art employs unusual concepts with a variety of techniques, frequently mirroring Polish social history from 1950s through 1980s, with a myriad of styles: folk art from the 50s, pop art from the 60s, portraits from the 70s, & TV images from the 80s. In addition, his Jazz Greats series of famous American jazz personalities has become so well known that he recently reissued them as signed lithographs. The series includes: Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Charles Mingus & Charlie Parker among others.

Major awards:
1956 Tadeusz Trepkowski Award, Poland
1959 Toulouse-Lautrec Grand Prix, 1st International Film Poster Exhibition, Versailles, France
1965 Gold Medal, 1st Biennale of Polish Poster, Katowice, Poland
1970 1st Prize, 10th Biennaleof Arts, Sao Paulo, Brazil
1971 Gold Medal, 4th Biennale of Polish Poster, Katowice, Poland
1972 Silver Medal, 4th International Poster Biennale, Warsaw, Poland
1975 Gold Medal, 6th Biennale of Polish Poster, Katowice, Poland
1976 Gold Medal, 6th International Poster Biennale, Warsaw, Poland
1977 Silver Medal, 7th Biennale of Polish Poster, Katowice, Poland
1977 1st Prize and Special International Jury Prize, 2nd Poster Biennale, Lahti, Finland
1985 Gold and Bronze Medals, 1st International Jazz Poster Saloon “Jazzpo”, Bydgoszcz, Poland
1987 Silver Medal, 12th Biennale of Polish Poster, Katowice, Poland
1989 Gold Medal, 13th Biennale of Polish Poster, Katowice, Poland
1995 Silver Medal, 14th Biennale of Polish Poster, Katowice, Poland

 

                                                                                   

Poland posters social design poster Waldemar Swierzy

Maria Papaefstathiou

VISUAL DESIGNER since 1996 and blogger since 2010. Living in Athens, Greece. She has been focusing her research on poster design and particularly on social poster design and portrait design. Her main poster project is a series of posters celebrating great personalities of traditional and popular culture in Greece and Jamaica. These include actors, singers, musicians, poets etc. This is an ongoing project. “I believe that design is a powerful tool that we designers can use to spark enthusiasm, change mindsets and bring positive actions to our world and our culture”. FOUNDER AND EDITOR OF GRAPHICART-NEWS.COM BLOG. She carefully curates high-quality designs, illustrations, and art, from all over the world that will teach and provoke other designers. Many consider her blog to be an exceptional educational tool. CO-FOUNDER OF THE INTERNATIONAL REGGAE POSTER CONTEST which was launched on December 2011, partnering, the creative activist Michael Thompson aka Freestylee. (www.reggaepostercontest.com)

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