Manceeeeeeep

Exhibition, The Poster in Puerto Rico 1954-1974,1974
I did not head out today for the Puerto Rican Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, instead, I am celebrating Puerto Rican culture with a parade of works by the wildly talented and prolific artist, Lorenzo Homar (1913-2004)

I urge you to read his bio on the AIGA site to really get a idea of his significance in the development of the graphic arts in Puerto Rico and his influence on a generation of artists there. Renowned as a poster designer, Homar’s talents ranged from gymnastics to calligraphy and his biography includes a Purple Heart earned during active duty in WWII, and a full time position in the design department of Cartier.

Princeton University houses an archive of 350 works. In addition to posters are a sketchbook from WWII, jewelry designs for Cartier, and roughs for posters and books. In my last post, “Picturing Coney Island,” the pencil drawing of figures at Muscle Beach was from this archive.

When you look at Homar’s work, you will see evidence of, not only the engraving skills he honed at Cartier, and his interest in sports, but the influence of some quite notable teachers. He studied with George Bridgman at the Art Student’s League during the 1930s, and after the war took classes at the Brooklyn Museum, where his teachers included Ben Shan and Rufino Tamayo.