Pinakothek Der Moderne - Munich

Deadly & Brutal. Movie Posters from Ghana.

The Pinakothek Der Moderne holds some of the best of the German modernists in its collection so we checked out the usual suspects – Kirchner, Beckmann, Beuys but the most memorable part of the visit was a temporary exhibition of movie posters from Ghana. Hand painted by artists who had never seen the films (most of the films were made in Nigeria), the posters are what the artist imagines might have been in the film and therefore not necessarily anything to do with what actually happens in the film. A bit of a strange concept as they are meant to be adverts for the films but why not – we all know that form is more important than function. No subject is seemingly too extreme, babies being butchered, dismembered penis’ and huge breasts all feature but the pictures have the effect of making the viewer LOL rather than experience any feelings of revulsion.

The day was rounded off with an amusing encounter with an over officious attendant who told off one of our party at length for sitting on the floor and then proceeded to follow us around like an amorous pigeon in pursuit of a mate in order to ensure we did not commit any other grievous transgressions. This resulted in a game of hide and seek inbetween the exhibits as we tried to evade capture by zee guards.