Crossroads of Western and Eastern Europe

Mon, Jul 24, 2023 12pm - Fri, Aug 18, 2023 12pm

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Slovak posters
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Slovak posters
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CUAA Awards 2024
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Slovak posters
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Slovak posters

Crossroads of Western and Eastern Europe, a poster exhibition co-presented by the Slovak Consulate General in NY, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, and The Cooper Union Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography, highlights 26 designs by contemporary Slovakian artists, including Ján Baláž, Peter Eliáš, Andrej Haščák, Peter Javorík, Eva Jenčuráková, Lenka Sisak, and Mykola Kovalenko. The exhibition, on view in the Foundation Building's colonnade windows through August 18, offers a representative selection of contemporary politically engaged posters from Slovakia that aim to raise awareness about issues such as climate change, freedom, and war.

Curator Adrián Kobetič notes that "The posters address many of the most pressing problems society is currently facing such as the alarming acceleration of global warming, the financial crisis, and, more recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other armed conflicts around the world. The exhibition also features an authentic Ukrainian aspect through the participation of the Ukrainian graphic designer Mykola Kovalenko, an artist who has lived and worked in Slovakia for many years."

The idea of presenting Slovak poster design to a foreign audience grew out of the Trnava Poster Triennial held at the Ján Koniarek Gallery since 1991. From the beginning, the Triennial benefitted from the participation of leading graphic designers from around the world, but the Crossroads of Western and Eastern Europe exhibition attempts to reverse this by presenting Slovak posters internationally and to raise the visibility of the art of the Slovak poster.

 

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  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.