ANDERSON, Ind. — A collection of 31 original World War II posters is on display at Anderson University until Feb. 18. The exhibition includes works by Norman Rockwell, Jean Carlu, Lester Beall and Ben Shahn.

“These posters are fully recognized as art, and they laid a foundation for today’s mass media and graphic art,” said Tai Lipan, director of AU exhibitions and programs.

“On the Internet, in the way that visual material is used to communicate ideas, the lessons (from the posters) are in play,” Lipan said.

This collection offers viewers a chance to examine a time in American history and the role visual artists served in the war effort. The U.S. government sponsored the posters to enlist the support of its citizens.

However, America’s top artists donated their time and talent to the cause and were not reimbursed by the government, Lipan said. Instead, they were encouraged to compete against each other, which contributed to the more than 200,000 original designs printed in the span of just a few years, Lipan said.

“The posters are (still) around, but they are not well preserved or in large collections,” Lipan said.

AU has more than 31 posters in its permanent collection, some of them duplicates, donated by Mary Dugan, wife of a foreman at Cummins Engine factory.

The posters had been hanging in the Cummins factory in Columbus, Ind., during the hostilities. The factory workers were called “production soldiers,” and the posters affirmed their importance to the war effort.

Dugan preserved the posters in storage until the 50th anniversary of World War II, when she turned over the collection to her granddaughter, Kathleen Dugan, an AU art professor. “(My grandmother) said, ‘Put them to good use.’ She was a teacher, and she wanted the posters to teach others,” Kathleen Dugan said.

The art in the posters utilizes three main techniques: photographic, design and illustration. Rockwell’s art would be categorized under illustration, Lipan said.

Likewise, the posters center around three main themes: call to action, production, and recruitment, she said.

They are overwhelmingly positive in message, Lipan said. This was the result of experience with World War I posters, which were negative and overtly focused on the enemy, she added.

“People did not appreciate being persuaded to hate the enemy (during World War I),” Lipan said.

Therefore, propaganda for the second world war became more positive in nature.

From an antiques standpoint, the posters that are attributed to the artist and about which more is known are more valuable, though they have not been appraised, Lipan said. In AU’s collection, several posters are considered “standouts in importance,” including Rockwell’s illustration of a soldier in action who is running low on bullets, Lipan said.

“This was a call to action. On the poster was the text, ‘Let’s give him enough and on time,’” Lipan said.

From a historical perspective, the posters are extremely important, Lipan said. “If they had not been important, the government would not have put so much energy into them,” she said.

“Anyone I’ve talked to has been excited about seeing the posters. I expect to see a crossover of the general public, designers, and students from Ball State and Anderson universities,” Lipan said.

The posters will be on display in the Jessie C. Wilson Galleries for three weeks altogether. For more information, contact Lipan by email to talipan@anderson.edu or by phone at 765-641-4320.