[MOPO] The art of the poster evokes the soul of a movie. It freezes an instant of the f

[Kainbach]

The art of the poster evokes the soul of a movie. It freezes an instant of the film in the mind of the moviegoer. It strikes the elemental chord of the film. The poster image, a film's "key art," may linger in the mind as clearly as any single scene from the movie. One of the most unique resources at the Margaret Herrick Library is its Poster Collection, which currently numbers more than 20,000 items, the majority of which are American one-sheet posters. Unfortunately, many of these posters are endangered by the very nature of their creation. Considered ephemera, posters produced between the turn of the century until the early 1960s were printed on highly acidic wood-pulp paper, which tends to deteriorate with age, becoming yellow and brittle. In order to preserve this unique art form, the Margaret Herrick Library has instituted an ongoing conservation program. Posters are sent out to receive physical conservation. They are deacidified, cleaned, mended and mounted on Japanese mulberry paper using rice starch paste. This procedure strengthens the posters, neutralizes the acidity of the material and insures a life expectancy of more than two hundred years for these beautifully restored works. The posters are then photographed and a color negative, transparency, slides and a photographic print are made for reference use and future reproduction. >From then on the original posters are stored in proper environmental conditions and seen only in exhibitions (and then they are framed using UV Plexiglass to reduce the damage caused by ultraviolet light). To date, the Academy has preserved more than a thousand posters. The final step in the conservation of a poster is the creation of a database record cataloging its bibliographic content as well as its image. To view these records, search the Online Catalog. The collection is an unparalleled resource for those wishing to study the art of the poster from the earliest days of filmmaking to the present. Access to the posters is restricted to the use of prints in the Library's production files. For exhibition use or further assistance using the poster collection, contact the Graphic Arts Librarian at the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy Foundation, 333 S. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.