2001: A Space Odyssey Poster

Pair of 3-D Cinerama display posters designed by Robert McCall for the film '2001: A Space Odyssey', directed by Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), issued by MGM, 1968. Produced by a lenticular process with holographic effect. Each 36.5x28.5cm framed.

These two posters, representing a space station with a space craft and astronauts working on a planet, promoted Stanely Kubrick’s era-defining science fiction film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). They were produced for cinemas showing the film in Cinerama format, which synchronised three projectors to present an ultra-wide picture and create an immersive experience. The posters reveal how the ambitious and innovative approach extended to marketing.

In 1967, MGM film studios (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, inc.) and Kubrick invited leading space artist Robert McCall (1919-2010) to create poster designs for 2001 at a time when McCall was employed by NASA. McCall was part of the agency’s new Art Program which sought artists to communicate visually its extraordinary work to the public. As such, from the early 1960s, even before the moon landing, McCall contributed to shaping the public’s imagination of space with his optimistic and celebratory representations. His poster designs reveal the interrelation of space exploration and science fiction in the 1960s.

The posters were also attention-grabbing because they were produced using a lenticular process, which was then relatively new in consumer culture. It relies on two separate images seen through a plastic lenticular sheet to create the illusion of movement.