Poster, Atomschutz Ja,

1979

Quotations from artwork can often be found in poster design. Art embodies material and cultural prosperity and thus seduces its audience. It only imparts a sense of déjà-vu, however, if the quoted images are part of the established cultural canon. A particularly free appropriation that is recognized as a quotation serves as proof of the fact that it has become part of the collective memory.
Pieter Brueghel’s (ca. 1525/30–1569) profound, symbolic image worlds are adapted particularly frequently. His Tower of Babel as an allegory for human arrogance appears in Pierre Brauchli’s (b. 1942) “yes” poster supporting the anti-nuclear initiative. Years later, Brauchli adapted this motif again for a German protest event.
Images quoted from Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918) and Albert Anker (1831–1910) were also used in posters for the Swiss referendum. Bernard Schlup (b. 1948) borrowed Anker’s Der Schulspaziergang (The School Walk) in 1981 to successfully support a “yes” vote for the anti-nuclear initiative in Bern canton. (Bettina Richter)