Page 206 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

GRAPHIC DESIGN 203

A number of quality posters have been published in
Bangladesh on several occasions and festivals. We can give
examples of Qayyum Chowdhury’s poster on the Asian Art
Biennale. He made use of folk motifs in these posters
successfully. Some splendid posters were published on the
occasion of the state celebration of the birth anniversary of
poet Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore. Most of
these are done by Qayyum Chowdhury. Posters published on
the occasion of birth and death anniversaries of renowned
individuals feature portraits of the concerned individual and
relevant associations. Some very good posters were designed
on the occasion of SAF games. The posters designed by
Shishir Bhattacharjee in 1988 for the poetry festival against
autocracy deserve special mention. Some very attractive
posters were designed on the occasion of film festivals (pl. 4.6)
by Shishir Bhattacharjee (1960 - ), Dhali Al Mamoon (1958- ),
Tarun Ghosh (1953- ). At the end of the 90s Shawon Akand
designed some unusual posters for several film festivals.
Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation has published some
attractive posters. The landscape, farmers, animals, birds and
archaeological sites were featured in these (pl. 4.7). We can
observe quality in selection of subject matter and their
presentation in these posters designed to attract tourists from home and abroad. In fig. 4.10 Desh Aj Bisva
1971, during the War of Liberation some inspiring posters were published on behalf Behayar Khapparey, the
of the Government of Bangladesh in exile in support of the War (pl. 4.8). Amongst last sketch by Quamrul
these Quamrul Hassan’s poster Annihilate these Demons featuring a caricature of Hassan drawn moments
Yahya Khan is a memorable one (fig. 4.9). Besides, many other motivating posters before his death, 1988
were designed by Pranesh Mandal (1951 - ) and Nitun Kundu in the same period. In
1988, the poster published on the occasion of poetry festival of Jatiya Kabita Parishad
based on Quamrul Hassan’s last sketch Desh Aj Bishwabehayar Khapparey is
considered a phenomenal work (fig. 4.10).
Apart from commercial needs, posters can be used as an important instrument for
social welfare activities. Posters published by several voluntary organizations,
humanitarian agencies or the government, especially those by the Department of
Family Planning have helped create awareness among people. Some useful posters
were produced on issues regarding use of contraceptives and orsaline. The posters of
UNICEF to encourage child vaccination are successful creations. No doubt these
posters gave priority to the message rather than to the artistic quality.
3. Book design, cover and illustration
There is a close connection between the history of book design, cover and illustration
and the origin and development of the print industry. In this connection, we can