Monday, 4:42pm
11 October 2010

Dig for history

Twentieth century Britain, chronicled in the work of Abram Games

Abram Games (1914-96) was one of the twentieth century's most celebrated graphic designers. An exhibition, opening at Sheffield Institute of Arts Gallery tomorrow, brings together

original artwork, posters, film and objects from the Abram Games archive.

See Britain by Train

‘Spanning six decades, his work presents an unparalleled social history of Britain as seen through wartime propaganda, company logos, work for London Transport, the United Nations and Shell, television channel idents, postage stamps and coffee makers’ says gallery manager Tim Machin.

See also Steve Rigley’s review of an earlier Games exhibition (in Glasgow) in Eye 59.

Air Mail

13 October > 12 November 2010
‘Maximum meaning, minimum means: An exhibition of the work of Abram Games’
Sheffield Institute of Arts Gallery, Furnival Building
Sheffield Hallam University, 153 Arundel Street
Sheffield S1 2NU
www.shu.ac.uk/art/gallery

And the Abram Games website, abramgames.com.

Eye magazine is available from all good design bookshops and at the online Eye shop, where you can order subscriptions, single issues and back issues. The Autumn issue, Eye 77, is about to go on press. For regular updates, please sign up for the editor’s newsletter.

Below: Rip off or homage? Abram Games poster (1956); concert poster (2008). See ‘Cool for (copy) cats?’ on the Eye blog for more inspiration/plagiarism.

Abram Games poster (1956); concert poster (2008)