Prints from a Life
The Michael O’Connor Poster Collection is made up of approximately 2800 international posters; ephemeral and historical items dating from the late 1960’s to the early 1980’s. Michael O’Connor of Listowel, County Kerry, categorically amassed the collection over the course of 20 years, at great personal expense. He generously donated it to Limerick City Gallery of Art in 1989. This eclectic and personal collection grew alongside Michael O’Connor’s years, taking its shape from the line of his life.
The collection contains posters from diverse provenances, such as celebrated American graphic designers, little-known Czechoslovakian graphic designers and the Polish Poster School – an aspect of the Polish cultural phenomenon that lasted from the late 1950’s through to the late 1980’s. Michael meticulously catalogued his posters, categorising them according to country of origin and sub-categorising them by theme.
The still-growing collection was initially displayed during Listowel Writers’ Week in the early 1970’s.While the posters were still in Michael’s possession, his chosen method of storage was to keep them in his loft, rolled in cardboard tubes. Michael died in 2010. The specific details of the motivation for and methodologies behind his collecting remain elusive.
This exhibition of posters was selected to be dynamic, vibrant, eclectic and honest; it reflects the nature of the Michael O’Connor Poster Collection as a whole. Due to the vast and delicate nature of the poster collection, it has rarely been seen by the public; this exhibition of posters is the largest to date.
Caitlin Quinn is a designer and researcher currently based in Dublin. She is particularly interested in design for arts and culture. Her work is especially concept-driven; though often minimal, it maintains playful, self-aware elements. She studied
the Michael O’Connor Poster Collection as an aspect of her MA by Research Scholarship at Limerick School of Art and Design, from which she graduated in 2014.