Chloe Kopsky 
Professor Schwartz
AHIS 499 
17 May 2022    
Written Assignment 1/6 

Although once regarded as a “degenerate” artform, posters play a crucial role in 19th-century Parisian life. Specifically, advertisements covered the city landscape and fought for the attention of pedestrians. The Poster reading ironically points out that posters were “seen in passing, if at all” which is surprising considering they literally took up so much surface area in the city and seem as though the prints were impossible to miss. The consumption of posters in Paris starkly contrasts the way other art forms are consumed and is likely why it was not seen as legitimate art at first. In museums, people gather around traditional art and contemplate the intentions of the artist, while the posters were contrastingly unavoidable and received a glance at most. However, this does not mean that the posters were created with a lack of creativity and purpose. In fact, Parisian streets were like a blank canvas, and they were quickly filled with curated prints. The Poster reading discusses the specific characteristics that aided in capturing the eye of a consumer: simplicity, visibility, positioning, making use of three-dimensional space, and contrasting colors. I find it interesting that some individuals were hesitant to call this an art form as the same principles are considered when making an oil painting, for example. Not to mention, the posters were a foundational art form and inspired other art both due to its ability to serve as an advertisement and the actual creation of the posters. First, many of the posters were advertisements for other spectacles in the city whether it be a ballet, animation of a piece as seen in the exhibit, or the opera. Posters were responsible for communicating the spectacles available to the public which is crucial since without the public there would be no audience to enjoy these art forms and many times without consumers, art has a limited purpose. 
The posters also indirectly inspired the origins of cinema. It started with posters, then advertisements, then kiosks which eventually experimented with lighting, then cartoons, and eventually moving pictures. And even when films were created, advertisements had a big role in the cinema with product placement as the “Paris, Screen City” section of City of Cinema explores. Although unsure if it were intentional or not, this collaboration was mutually beneficial as cinema was able to compensate for a poster's flaw: mobility. “By making their ads as mobile as their spectators,” film was able to ensure advertising was even more ubiquitous in the lives of Parisians than it already was — even if they tried, individuals could not escape the constant stimulation. This idea of artforms collaborating and making up the inabilities of one is something I want to further explore in this course (for example, Britt explained in the gallery how cinema was limited by black and white while prints could utilize color). I look forward to understanding how mediums other than posters informed other art and the ways in which they overlapped. Overall, the important role of posters is undeniable in this exhibit as they served as a catalyst for other art forms and influenced Parisian life so heavily. 

Questions to consider: What is a strong argument for “posters are not art?” Even though, pedestrians hardly stopped to look at posters, why do you think they were still so influential? At the time, what do you think were the attitudes Parisians had towards advertisements? Would you consider contemporary advertisements/posters art — why or why not?