The University Gallery of the Rochester Institute of Technology is showcasing a selection from the life’s work of the British graphic designer Abram Games, created over a period of sixty years. Using an extremely reduced visual language he designed political (propaganda) posters, stamps, and book covers.
At school in his art lessons, Abram Games was not considered at all capable at drawing, but he finally found a way to prove his graphic skills and become an acknowledged designer. Games’ creations can be read as a record of British social history: He was the official designer of posters in the Second World War, creating over a hundred posters during that time, then designed posters and logos for the Financial Times, the BBC, British Airways and Guinness, and was also commissioned to design postage stamps.
His style, inspired by El Lissitzky’s Russian constructivism, is characterised by strong colours and flat, almost geometric illustrations, occasionally supplemented by characteristic typography – his aim was to create a great deal of impact with little. Between 1946 and 1953 he passed on his skills in graphic design at theRoyal College of Art in London.
The exhibition features some fifty exhibits, including posters, book covers, and stamps, and is one of few presentations of Games’ achievements in the United States.
