This web exhibition accompanies a current exhibition at the underground tram station "Spui" in The Hague, Netherlands. Text and pictures were kindly provided by Wendy Low, curator of the exhibition.

Anthon Beeke, 2002

De Affiche Galerij in The Hague, The Netherlands presents Striker - 50 years of posters by Anthon Beeke Januari 16 - March 7, 2011 Posters made by Anthon Beeke are always right on target. They can literally strike you and stop you dead in your tracks. They don't just grab your attention, they overpower you and strike a nerve in you. A few quotes by Anthon Beeke: "A poster must shock" "I provoke because that is what triggers people" "I have never been interested in 'pretty', I want to convey a mentality, a feeling. The means to get there, pretty or ugly, are of minor interest to me." A quote about him: "Posters made by Beeke make us stop, look, and discover the true side of everyday images. This ultimately leads us to deeper insight. De Affiche Galerij (the poster gallery) in The Hague, The Netherlands presents 60 of Anthon Beeke's much talked about posters. He made them for a broad spectrum of clients like Mickery, Holland Festival, Globe, Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Theatercompagnie, Kunstrai and the Design Academy in Eindhoven. From the sixties up until now, for half a century, his posters were, as he himself once said "the thermometer of the juncture". History / background information Anthon Beeke, b. Amsterdam, March 11, 1940 Anthon Beeke starts working as an independent graphic designer in 1963; among other clients, he works for Jumbo Games. From 1976 til 1982 he is vice-president at Total Design. After some years of co-operatives, he starts Studio Anthon Beeke in 1989. Mostly known for his controversial posters for Globe, Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Theatercompagnie and Kunstrai, he also designs books, magazines, annual reports, corporate identities, logo's, postage stamps, catalogues, advertising campagnes, exhibitions and alphabets. Many of his designs have won awards. He gives lectures all over the world and has taught at different artschools in The Netherlands and abroad. From 1985 until 2008 he was head of the department "mens en communicatie" (man and communication) at the Design Academy in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Anthon Beeke is one of the great men in Dutch design. As a young, free spirit in the sixties, he disrupted the then strict modernist Dutch design culture with his provocative images and personal flair. Since then, Beeke has found international recognition and he himself became an icon in The Netherlands, one of the godfathers of Dutch posterdesign. His images are sometimes provocative and erotic. His designs always show his good eye and his enormous skill. Anthon Beeke is one of the designers that helped keep up and innovate a great graphic design tradition, the poster tradition, the tradition of graphic streettheatre. He is one of the most important posterdesigners after World War II, not just in The Netherlands, but internationally recognized. Here in The Netherlands, we should be happy to have designers like Anthon Beeke, who compensate the rigid, abstract mentality that is so predominant in Dutch design. His work is poetic, outgoing and physical. Even though beautiful 'prose' has been made in Dutch design, without poets like Anthon Beeke it would be quite boring!

2008, Frida, eternal love for Diego poster for a Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition in Mexico

1989, Uruguay, Argentinie, Brazilie, Chili made in commission for the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. The exhibition UABC showed work by contemporary artists from these South-Americain countries

1991, Wanderlieder made in commmission for the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. A thematic exhbhtion curated by Wim Beeren

2001, Graduation Poster made to accompany the graduation exhibition of graduate students in graphic design, at the Design Academy, Eindhoven

1993, Aids the killing bite of love The poster is made so that you can cut out the snake and spraypaint it on walls, as a grafitti

2002, Hamlet made in commission for the Theatercompagnie, Amsterdam

1995, Holland Festival 1995 made in commission for the Holland Festival. This is an international festival for theatre, music, dance, opera, film and the arts, held yearly in Amsterdam. The festival exists since 1947

1996, Kunstrai the person portrayed is Ingo Maurer. Kunstrai is called "Art Amsterdam" since 2006. It is basically an annual Art fair where galleries can present themselves and sell from stock

1989, King Lear made in commission for Toneelgroep Amsterdam, the theatre company that is based in Amsterdam

1982, het chemisch huwelijk (the chemical marriage) made in commission for theatre company "Globe", based in Amsterdam. The man portrayed standing is Gerrit Komrij. The play is based on Goethe's novel Die Wahlverwandtschaften. Translated and formed to text for a play by Gerrit Komrij. Komrij is one of the most celebrated contemporary poets in The Netherlands

1972, Mammoetfestival made in commission for the Bijenkorf, a departmentstore in The Netherlands. They used to commission young and upcoming graphic designers, often giving them their first assignment

1993, Jeff Koons made in commission for the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam