The Graphics of Revolution and War: Iranian Poster Arts

by Special Collections Research Center, The University of Chicago

Posters are a powerful medium to convey ideological messages and stir viewers to sympathy and action. Mass-produced and widely distributed, they reach a large audience with their striking design and dramatic, often blunt, messages.

A newly launched Library Web exhibit, The Graphics of Revolution and War: Iranian Poster Arts, explores how posters were used for mobilization and communication during the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). This permanent online exhibit was collaboratively produced in conjunction with a loan exhibition of the University of Chicago’s posters on display at the Indiana University Art Museum from October 15 to December 18, 2011.  The exhibition was guest curated by Professor Christiane Gruber, University of Michigan, and her doctoral student Elizabeth Rauh. The website was produced and designed by Elisabeth M. Long, co-director of the University of Chicago’s Digital Library Development Center, and Brad Busenius, web and graphic design specialist.
The posters in the exhibition were selected from the Library’s Middle East Poster Collection. The Guide to the Middle Eastern Posters Collection 1970s-1990s includes links to digital images of all of the Iranian posters in the collection.

Montage of Children’s Drawings, ca.1980, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 1, Poster 1, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

A Great Day, 1984, Kazim Chalipa, Iranian, b.1957, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 117, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Photograph of Crowd Around a Toppled Statue of the Shah, 1980, 'Abbas ‘Attar, Iranian, b.1944, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 2, Poster 20, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Cry Out: The First Night of Muharram,1979, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 95, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

The Shah’s Exile and Khomeini’s Return,1979, Hasan Isma’ilzadah, Iranian, b.1922, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 1, Poster 11, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Silhouette of Crowd with Shahada, ca.1970s–1980s, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 4, Poster 188, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

 “One-Year Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution”, 1980, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 4, Poster 171, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Five Soldiers with Khomeini, ca.1980s, Kazim Chalipa, Iranian, b.1957, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 70, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Soldier Sitting in Bombed Building, ca.1980's, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 62, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

A Funeral for Hearts, ca.1980, Habib Sadeqi, Iranian, b.1957, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 124, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Mullah, Mother, and Soldiers, 1981, Husayn Khusrawjirdi, Iranian, b.1957, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 72, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Certitude of Belief (Yaqin), ca.1981, Kazim Chalipa, Iranian, b.1957, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 67, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Boy Going to War with Crying Girl, 1980, Muhammad Taraqijah, Iranian, b.1943, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 4, Poster 209, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Young Girl Carrying Rifle, 1979, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 60, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

A Woman Holding a Rifle, ca.1980, Nasser Palangi, Iranian, b.1957, Middle Eastern Posters Collection, Box 3, Poster 65, Special Collections Research Center, Image courtesy of The University of Chicago Library

Via The University of Chicago Library