An absolutely beautiful catalog displaying the March 2011 exhibition of vintage silent film posters and modern art inspired by silent cinema. Among the diverse contemporary artists to contribute to the exhibition were modern symbolist painter Gail Potocki, illustrator Douglas Klauba, and illustrator, graphic artist, and filmmaker Dave McKean.The show which was held in Chicago by Century Guild also featured the work of artists from the early half of the 20th Century renowned for their Expressionist posters for films and advertisements.

In terms of the catalog itself, the works shown are beautiful though there aren't quite as many as I had originally thought there would be since not all of McKean's silent film-inspired paintings were on display. However, this is in no way a disappointment since the works collected are of such high quality and having them gathered at all is a great luxury for silent film buffs and modern art enthusiasts like myself.


On a side note, there will be a new book coming out in the not-too-distant future collecting Dave McKean's artwork inspired by early cinema. That book will be entitled Nitrate and will be published by Allen Spiegel Fine Arts (ASFA) and Hourglass.


Similarly, Century Guild will be releasing a book entitled Kinogeists written by Thomas Negovan which will showcase all of the silent film posters at the exhibition and more.