![A vertically rectangular poster framed with a white border depicting a bluescale image of the head of a woman, Jenifer Lewis, with a bouffant, 1960s hairdo, contrasted against a bright yellow, solid background. She has an unrestrained, urgent, possibly distressed expression on her face, with a jaw-dropped open mouth, wrinkled forehead, long-eyelashed eyes wide, and eyebrows raised. The left half of her face is in shadow, slightly obscuring her features, while the right half is overexposed and bright white. Black sans serif text, outlined in orange, in bold, capitalised letters of varying weights and spacing, expands from her mouth, as though she is shouting or singing the words, in a windmill-like projection with four diagonal axes. Going clockwise from the left the text states [THE / DIVA / IS DISMISSED / CO-WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY / CHARLES / RANDOLPH-WRIGHT / CO-WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY / JENIFER LEWIS / LIMITED ENGAGEMENT! / NOW PLAYING!]. Most of the words are oriented from left to right on a diagonal, except for two words, [THE] & [CHARLES], which are oriented vertically. In the top right corner, aligned vertically along the right margin, is some additional text, which states: [THE], which is orange and aligned right to left and upside down; [PUBLIC] which is black with an orange outline and aligned vertically top down; [THEATER], which is black with an orange outline and aligned horizontally. Below this is the logo of the theater, a black circle with a stylised orange [S] inside and the words [SHIVA / THEATER] in orange capitals. Below the logo is the address and phone number of the theater; [425 LAFAYETTE STREET (212) 598-7150]. In the top left corner, in tiny black font is some text that is illegible, aligned vertically along the left margin.]( https://images.collection.cooperhewitt.org/80074_7f51450f46fe4e37_b.jpg
"Poster, The Diva is Dismissed, 1994")
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Object Timeline
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Poster, The Diva is Dismissed, 1994
This is a Poster. It was designed by Paula Scher. It is dated 1994 and we acquired it in 1996. Its medium is screenprint on paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.
Paula Scher’s juxtaposition of a head in blue and white superimposed on a yellow ground makes for an eye-catching poster. Using complementary colors to draw attention, Scher’s poster for a production at The Public Theater also recalls the bright hues of Pop Art and Andy Warhol’s color-centric print series featuring the heads of iconic figures.
This object was
donated by
Paula Scher.
It is credited Gift of Paula Scher.
- Drawing, Carpet Design: "Singing Women," Radio City Music Hall Main...
- brush and brown, tan, and purple gouache, graphite on heavy cream wove paper.
- Gift of Donald Deskey.
- 1975-11-56
![A book cover with a photograph of a man's face filling the surface, surrounded by a thin, white border. The man has brown hair and eyes, and his skin has been covered with a black biomorphic trellis pattern outlined in the peach of his skin color. The top of a white shirt and black jacket can also be seen. In the upper right is a silver starburst sticker, with the words: [STEFAN SAGMEISTER / THINGS / I HAVE LEARNED / IN MY LIFE / SO FAR], printed in black capital letters, followed by the words ['His work is fresh, personal and emotional' / The New York Times], in smaller black print.](https://images.collection.cooperhewitt.org/40128_82e801660d7d1670_n.jpg "Object ID #18794275")
- Object ID #18794275
- digitally color printed and die-cut cardboard cover with 15 digitally color....
- Gift of Stefan Sagmeister.
- 2011-34-6
- Poster, Wozzeck
- offset lithograph on paper.
- Museum purchase from Friends of Drawings & Prints Fund.
- 2013-30-1
Our curators have highlighted 8 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:
- Poster, A bore is a fellow who opens his mouth and put his feats in it.
- lithograph on wove paper.
- Gift of Unknown Donor.
- 1987-24-8
- Poster, Kabaret
- offset lithograph on wove paper.
- Gift of Sara and Marc Benda.
- 2010-21-100
- Poster, An American in Paris, Théâtre du Châtelet
- screenprint on paper.
- Gift of Philippe Apeloig in honor of Gail Davidson.
- 2015-34-2
Its dimensions are
117.2 × 76.8 cm (46 1/8 × 30 1/4 in.)
Cite this object as
Poster, The Diva is Dismissed, 1994; Designed by Paula Scher (American, b. 1948); USA; screenprint on paper; 117.2 × 76.8 cm (46 1/8 × 30 1/4 in.); Gift of Paula Scher; 1996-88-17
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color.
