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A framed print of Shakespeare: The Taming of the Shrew, 1983, by Boris Bućan.
In all his posters for the Croatian National Theatre in Split, Bućan’s imagery does not represent his interpretation of a specific scene within a performance but his response to the spirit of the production. This is perhaps most evident in this poster for William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, in which three riders in hunting pinks (traditional fox-hunting attire) gather in the foreground, accompanied by a trio of hounds. This six-sheet silkscreen incorporates a postmodernist range of bold patterns, similar to those found on Tunisian kilims (woven rugs) that inspired artists like Henri Matisse. Rather than relying on the rectilinear flatness of the designs, however, Bućan rotates them on multiple axes to create the illusion of three-dimensional space.
Before 1918, Yugoslavia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and its artists were often inspired by the decorative motifs of Art Nouveau and the Vienna Secession that circulated throughout the region. Bućan’s eye-catching, decorative frame and complex patterning reflects this tradition, most likely inspired by the work of designers like Koloman Moser. Bućan often relegated text to the edges of a poster or abandoned it entirely, making the advertisement seem more like a painting within a frame of letterforms. Here, the title of the play as well as the names of the director and other constituents appear inside decorative circles in the style of old-fashioned typewriter keys, creating a border that echoes the patterns of dots within the composition.
Boris Bućan was a Croatian artist and graphic designer of Ukrainian-Jewish heritage whose long career began during the late 1960s in Zagreb. Not committed to a single style, he continuously developed his artistic practice, often appearing to anticipate art movements that emerged outside what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Lightweight plastic frame. Measures 15.8 x 15.8 inches.
