Snapshot In Time: When Carol Summers was looking at the first AETNA ALIVE poster to come off the press, the city of Cesky Krumlov was selected to be placed in the United Nations Register of Monuments of World Significance. Cesky Krumlov is a castle city in the southwest region of the Czech Republic which has preserved its medieval center, the only city in the area to do so. Carol Summers was one of the first contemporary artists to have a One-Man show in the country since the fall of the Soviet Union. During the exhibition of Summers’ color woodcuts in the town's museum, the Czech Republic celebrated its fifth year anniversary as an independent state. Five years earlier the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic became independent states and Czechoslovakia ceased to exist.

Art Smart Fact: This exhibit was held in the Egon Schiele Art Center, akin to our Museum of Modern Art, from September 1997 through November 1998. It featured many of the 200 original woodcuts by Carol Summers created over a 45 year period. Many images were shown for the first time in a public venue since they were created. The CAROL SUMMERS WOODCUTS 1950-95 EXHIBITION broke all attendance records and inspired a revitalized interest in the art of the color woodcut.

About The Art: This poster is a pure Pop Art image from a large (49" by 37") color woodblock originally completed in 1964 called AETNA ALIVE of which an edition of only 50 woodcut prints were made. It is an excellent example of Retro Art or Pop Art at its height in popularity in the mid-1960s when the Love Generation wore their hearts on their sleeves. In retrospect, Pop Art has held its own and has been defined at different times as popular, transient, expendable, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky and boomer friendly! AETNA ALIVE was chosen to be the signature image for this exhibition and the accompanying poster because it symbolized the explosion of freedom, culture and fine art in the new Czech Republic.

The AETNA ALIVE Poster has been out-of-print for nearly a decade and is hard to find since only 1,000 were originally published. In all likelihood very few remain after all this time. This poster is in excellent condition and has been personally signed by Carol Summers.

Note: Be sure and check out the Carol Summers Woodcuts Catalog Raisonne, the 50 Year Retrospective Exhibit Catalog and the other collectible posters and original woodcuts by Carol Summers available here at Peggity's online.