PRESS RELEASE
Emzin Institute of Creative production, School of Visual Arts (SVA), New York and
the National Museum of Contemporary History present
Underground Images
School of Visual Arts Subway Posters, 1947 to the Present
National Museum of Contemporary History, 4 June – 4 July 2013
Exhibition opening: Tuesday 4th June 2013 at 8 pm
Opening reception for the School of Visual Arts (SVA), New York poster exhibition in the National
Museum of Contemporary History, Celovška cesta 23, Ljubljana, Slovenia on Tuesday 4th June
2013 at 8 pm. The exhibition runs until 4th July 2013. Present at the opening will be SVA Executive
Vice President Anthony P. Rhodes, exhibition curator, Francis Di Tommaso, director of SVA’s
Visual Arts Gallery, SVA faculty member Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber, founding archivist of the
Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives.
The exhibition features the works of 27 artists:
Gail Anderson, Marshall Arisman, Gene Case, Ivan Chermayeff, Paul Davis, Louise Fili,
Audrey Flack, Bob Gill, Robert Giusti, Milton Glaser, Phil Hays, Mirko Ilić, Viktor Koen,
Stephen Kroninger, Marvin Mattelson, James McMullan, Jerry Moriarty, Tony Palladino,
Stefan Sagmeister, David Sandlin, Paula Scher, Eve Sonneman, Gilbert Stone, George
Tscherny, Sal De Vito, James Victore, Robert Weaver
Accompanying event
Lecture by Beth Kleber, founding archivist of the Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives
entitled Underground Images: The School of Visual Arts Subway Posters as Public Art on
Tuesday 4th June 2013 at 8:30 pm in the Viteška dvorana hall of the National Museum of
Contemporary History (more information below).
ON THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition entitled Underground Images will showcase 51 posters presented in the National
Museum of Contemporary History and in the courtyard in front of the museum. The exhibition will
also feature short presentational films on SVA.
This exhibition represents a concise sampling of the myriad posters created at the School of Visual
Arts for display in the vast New York City subway system. This collection offers a glimpse of the
history of the College and the collective talent of its acclaimed design and illustration faculty. SVA
introduced its subway art as an advertising and recruiting vehicle. Placed where millions of
underground commuters see them every day, the posters have consistently produced a stream of
inquiries and applications to study at the College. Created by such eminent graphic artists as Gail
Anderson, Ivan Chermayeff, Paul Davis, Mirko Ilić, Milton Glaser, Stefan Sagmeister and Paula
Scher, SVA's subway posters serve as a reminder of the role that art plays in our lives.
Francis Di Tommaso, Director of Visual Arts Gallery
School of Visual Arts has been a leader in the education of artists, designers, and creative
professionals for more than six decades. With a faculty of distinguished working professionals,
dynamic curriculum, and an emphasis on critical thinking, SVA is a catalyst for innovation and
social responsibility. Comprised of more than 6,000 students at its Manhattan campus and 35,000
alumni in 100 countries, SVA also represents one of the most influential artistic communities in the
world.
In an era when family-owned businesses are a vanishing breed, the School of Visual Arts is a
storied exception to the rule. Son of SVA Founder Silas H. Rhodes, Anthony P. Rhodes became
vice president at the College in 1992 and executive vice president in 2002, overseeing the
operation of nearly every area of the institution’s administration and raising SVA’s profile among
aspiring and established artists. One of Mr. Rhodes’ overarching accomplishments has been in the
area of admissions, spearheading global recruitment such that SVA counts 35,000 alumni in all 50
U.S. states and over 100 countries. In extending the College’s reach, he has engaged educators
and parents in new ways and forged various cross-cultural partnerships through the Arts Abroad
and International Exchange programs. Mr. Rhodes served as associate creative director at the
Visual Arts Press, SVA’s professional design studio, from 2002 through 2007, when he took over
as creative director for his late father, assuming responsibility for the College’s long-running
subway campaign, which has been the subject of numerous exhibitions and the book SVA Gold:
Fifty Years of Creative Graphic Design (Rizzoli). To solidify SVA’s status as a model for visual
communication and world leader in the education of artists, Mr. Rhodes revitalized the College’s
publications, which have consistently earned recognition for outstanding design; led SVA’s early
embrace of the Internet, with the launch of a Webby Award-winning website; and initiated the
transition from print to digital publishing, which has today become widespread.
For more information about the College’s 31 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, visit
www.sva.edu and see the enclosures.
ACCOMPANYING EVENT
Lecture by Beth Kleber entitled Underground Images: The School of Visual Arts
Subway Posters as Public Art
Viteška dvorana Hall, National Museum of Contemporary history, Tuesday 4th June 2013 at 8:30
pm
The official exhibition opening will be followed by a free lecture on the School of Visual Arts
subway poster campaign given by the founding archivist of the Milton Glaser Design Study
Center and Archives, Beth Kleber.
ON THE LECTURE
Beginning in the mid-1950s, the School of Visual Arts was in the vanguard of academic institutions
to recognize the need for alternative marketing strategies to attract new students. SVA took to the
platforms of New York City’s subway with advertising posters that were both thought-provoking and
eye-catching and featuring the art of legendary figures including Ivan Chermayeff, Milton Glaser,
George Tscherny and Robert Weaver—all practicing professionals on the faculty. SVA Archivist
Beth Kleber discusses the subway poster campaign from its inception, revealing the incredibly
diverse group of designers and illustrators who used the poster commission to explore what it
means to be an artist, using conceptual thinking and expressive illustration and typography to hone
their own artistic voice. Like the College itself, the SVA subway posters have become in some way
inseparable from the city as incitements to creativity and risk taking.
Beth Kleber is the founding archivist of the Milton Glaser Design Study Center and Archives and
the School of Visual Arts Archives. She has acquired collections from artists and designers
including Milton Glaser, Ivan Chermayeff & Tom Geismar, Heinz Edelmann, Seymour Chwast,
James McMullan, George Tscherny, Tony Palladino, and Henry Wolf. Her essays have appeared
in design anthologies and she edits and writes the Container List blog.
We appreciate your help in informing the public and kindly request your presence at the exhibition
opening.
Kind regards,
Jasna Rackov, David Tošik, project managers
Production:
Emzin
Metelkova ulica 6, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
T: +386 (0)1 4303 544
M: +386 (0)31 685 067
W: www.emzin.si
E: emzin@guest.arnes.si
EMZIN logotip
School of Visual Arts
209 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010, USA
W: www.sva.edu
SVA (logo)
Coproduction:
National Museum of Contemporary History
Celovška cesta 23, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija
T: +386 (0)1 300 96 10
W: www.muzej-nz.si
E: uprava@muzej-nz.si
Muzej (logo)
Opening hours:
Tuesday–Sunday
10 am–6 pm
Closed on Mondays.
Exhibition concept and design:
Boštjan Pavletič
Project managers:
Jasna Rackov, David Tošik
Execution:
National Museum of Contemporary History
Vimo, grafični servis, d. o. o.
Vidal, d. o. o.
Special thanks:
School of Visual Arts (SVA), New York, Anthony P. Rhodes, Francis Di Tommaso, Beth Kleber,
Mirko Ilić
This project has been supported by:
Mestna občina Ljubljana, Oddelek za kulturo (logo)
Ministrstvo za kulturo Republike Slovenije (logo)
Veleposlaništvo Združenih držav Amerike v Sloveniji (logo)
Steklarna Hrastnik (logo)
Adriatic (logo)
Hotel Slon (logo)
Kmetija Prinčič (logo)
Domača peka (logo)
Media sponsor:
TAM-TAM (logo)