Gallery Program: August 2009 – January 2010

Abram Games
Maximum Meaning, Minimum Means

A selection of work by one of the 20th century’s most influential British Graphic Designers.

6th November 2009 – 16 January 2010
Opening View: Thursday 5 November, 6-8pm.

The exhibition is accompanied by a series of free lectures click here for details.

‘I wind the spring and the public, in looking at that poster, will have the spring released in their minds.’
Abram Games

Abram Games was one of the 20th century’s most influential British graphic designers. His works demonstrate the immediacy of the most simple of visual designs, their effectiveness in transmitting a message and producing a powerful impact in the mind of the viewer.

Games designed some of Britain's most iconic wartime propaganda images, such as the "Join the ATS" recruitment poster of 1941 (nicknamed the "Blonde Bombshell"). During his time as Official War Poster Artist, Games designed about 100 posters for the British war effort. Using his own destinctively sparse, modernistic style, his work before, during and after WWII earned him a reputation as the most direct and efficient of visual communicators. Games has left behind a body of work which can now be seen as a fascinating record of social history from the war and interwar periods of the 20th century.

Games’s work spans over six decades, and his many clients included Shell, the Financial Times, Guinness, British Airways, London Transport, El Al, and the United Nations. He designed stamps for Britain, Jersey, and Israel. Also, he designed book jackets for Penguin Books, symbols for the 1951 Festival of Britain (winning the 1948 competition) and the 1965 Queen's Award to Industry. More evidence of his pioneering contributions to visual communications can be seen in the first moving on-screen symbol for BBC Television, which he designed in 1953. As an important influence on Graphic Design, Abram Games set a benchmark for Visual Communications in the mid 20th century and it is particularly interesting to present such seminal work in the context of The National College of Art and Design, with its dynamic design faculty and department of visual communication.

Abram Games: Maximum Meaning Minimum Means was originally organised by the Design Museum, London and the Estate of Abram Games. The exhibition was made possible by a grant from the Wellcome Trust. The exhibition tour has been organised by the Estate of Abram Games and is presented in Dublin by the National College of Art and Design.

Naomi Games, the artist’s daughter will give a public lecture on his work on Thursday 5th November at 4.30pm in the Harry Clarke Lecture Hall, National College of Art and Design, Dublin. Space is limited, please arrive early to avoid dissapointment

National College of Art and Design/Gallery
100 Thomas Street,
Dublin 8.
Ireland.
Tel +353-1-6364261

Monday – Saturday 10.00 a.m. – 5.00 p.m.
Admission Free