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Twenty-six nostalgic advertising posters selected from the collections of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum are now on show at the arttube of MTR Central Station until April 8.
Entitled "Advertising Posters of Hong Kong in the 1920s and 1930s", the exhibition is one of the exhibition series of "Beyond the Museum" organised by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the MTR Corporation. By staging a series of exhibitions in Central ¡ª the heart of the city - the project aims to provide the public with a new experience of art and culture.
Speaking today (February 13) at the exhibition's opening ceremony, the Assistant Director (Heritage and Museums) of Leisure and Cultural Services, Dr Louis Ng Chi-wa, said that the Hong Kong Heritage Museum had a rich collection of artifacts, which covered the areas of history, culture, art and design. Every year, the museum in Sha Tin presented exhibitions and programmes of outstanding educational value and meaningful insight to visitors. In recent years, the museum had been keen to bring the collections to a wider public stage, hoping the public could enjoy the city life with cultural heritage and art.
Advertising posters printed in the 1920s and 30s were called "calendar posters" because many of them were additionally printed with a calendar. They were generally given away at the Lunar New Year.
The dominant subject of advertising posters of the 1920s and 30s was a beautiful lady, contrary to the traditional idea of sedate feminine beauty, of voluptuous figure, seductive demeanour and dressed in the height of glamorous fashion. This reflected the new trend of the times. It was given so much prominence that the phrases promoting the product were relegated to a secondary position.
Calendar posters were printed by the colour lithography process. They preserve the painters' meticulous draftsmanship, reveal aesthetic tastes, as well as record the goods which were popular at the time. They can be enjoyed as visual artifacts, as well as indicators of fashion and economic well-being.
The "Beyond the Museum" exhibition series consists of four specific themes. Apart from the current exhibition, the "Hong Kong Toys" exhibition will be held in May, "Fashion Parade" in July and "Contemporary Posters" in October. Famous designer Tommy Li has been invited to create a unique and attractive environment for the exhibits.
The arttube is located on the Mezzanine floor near Entrance/Exit J of MTR Central Station. Admission is free.
For details of the exhibition, visit the Heritage Museum's website at http://hk.heritage.museum/ or call 2180 8188.
Ends/Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:00
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