Angelina Lippert, "The Posterette" as she is lovingly called, is currently the Director of Marketing for the International Poster Center in New York City. She received her Master's in Russian Avant-Garde art from The Courtauld Institute of Art in London and her Bachelor's in Art History and Religion from Smith College. The ephemera blog caught up with Angelina in the following interview.
ephemera: How did you become interested in the vintage posters?
Lippert: A few years back, I was in dire need of a summer internship before moving to London for my Master's. A good friend of mine's father collects vintage posters and said he would see if he could get me a summer job with his dealer. I wasn't exactly enthusiastic, since, at the time, I felt why would anyone buy a poster when they could buy a painting? The entire concept of printed multiples just seemed like a big waste of time and money.
I think I was too stuck on the ideas of 'unique' and 'original' to see the possibilities of the poster medium. Barnes and Noble mouse pads and barewalls.com had immunized me against seeing their beauty—the Cappiellos and Lautrecs of this world were too common to keep my interest.
That summer, I watched a 600-lot auction of posters get formed. I catalogued, I did condition reports, and when I was done, I re-structured around 50,000 images in our Poster Archive. Intensity doesn't even begin to describe my initiation into the world of vintage posters. And when you're that surrounded, that immersed in any topic, you're going to notice qualities that distinguish it from any other art form. So, basically, what I'm trying to say is that actually working at the International Poster Center and learning from some of the best minds in the business is what got me interested in the field. Now I have my own collection, run the blog, and work in marketing for posters.
ephemera: What challenges or obstacles do you encounter as the blogger for the International Poster Center?
Lippert: Since the blog, ideally, gets updated daily Monday through Friday, sometimes 4 o'clock rolls around and I realize I haven't written anything yet. Panic strikes, I search our image database, frantically trying to find something interesting enough to write about. It's not that you can't find something nice to say about any poster, but more that I really try to find something at least mildly entertaining to say about the ones that I choose. I don't have to like them, but I have to be able to find something awesome, or funny, or strange about their existence. And when there's only 15 minutes before they lock me out of the office, writing off the cuff like that can be a bit difficult. I only hope that I can avoid appearing lame or repetitive.
ephemera: I can relate. It's not easy coming up with fresh content for a blog day-after-day. What are some of your favorite posts?
Lippert: I love all my children equally. Well, ok, maybe not. My April 29th post was pretty baller, simply because I got a Mario Brothers reference in there. I absolutely loved writing about the Geniol poster on April 17th—it really is the most bizarre image I've ever seen and if you're going to read only one of my blog posts, that's the one. And Orlando on April 3rd...words cannot describe my love for that sad, sad poster.
ephemera: What are your future plans for the blog? How do you see it evolving?
Lippert: In an ideal world, I want it to be a more accessible, young voice in the world of vintage posters. Yes, these bits of ephemera are art, but you also have to be able to see their humor, their weirdness. And, I think having a snarky commentator like me brings these posters that we sell for thousands of dollars out of the realm of stuffy academia and into that of your dorm room at 2 am. You have to be able to talk about art the way you talk about your life or it will always be on this untouchable pedestal. I want to show that there are no rules with posters.
ephemera: Thank you, Angelina.
