MoMA: Family of Man Exhibition

Takashi Kono

c.1955

A lithographic exhibition poster by Takashi Kono made to promote and adapt Edward Steichen’s The Family of Man for Japanese audiences, using image and type to convey the show’s humanist message.

You’re struck by a bold, stylized sun emblem and large Japanese headline balanced against a narrow vertical strip of black-and-white documentary photographs and strong blue and black color blocks, creating a crisp, international-modern rhythm.

This mid‑1950s design shows how graphic art mediated cultural exchange—translating and circulating Steichen’s humanist photography in Japan while helping define the visual language of postwar museum promotion and modern graphic design.

Palette

Art Terms

Lithography Poster Graphic design Typography Figure/ground relationship Design

Exhibitions

The Family of Man

1955

Recent Japanese Posters from the Collection

1989

New Japanese Photography

1974

Realism in Photography

1949