Poster issued by Civic Forum, 'Gloria in Excelsis'

Poster issued by Civic Forum
'Gloria in Excelsis'
Pavel Beneš
Czechoslovakia
1989
Lithograph printed in yellow and purple on paper
Museum no. E.270-1990
Given by Christopher Wilk

This poster produced soon after the collapse of communist government in Czechoslovakia is a jubilant celebration of the ‘velvet revolution’ and of the Civic Forum, one of the opposition organisations that led the Revolution. It employs the iconography of the comet as a symbol of hope and a harbinger of momentous events. This comet marks the propitious birth of a new Czechoslovakia with the 'OF' logo of Civic Forum (Občanské Fórum) glowing at its heart. It is one of a  number of ‘Christmas posters’ issued in December 1989 that incorporate religious imagery, signalling an end to the oppression of religion and linking the Civic Forum with moral values.