Bearded men pierced with nails, toes giving the peace sign, and guns with eyes. 

These images, along with 30 other posters, are now being displayed in the Gallery of Contemporary Art's "Voices in the Street," an exhibit of Polish street posters. 

During the gallery's opening reception on Sunday, exhibit curator, Dr. Marek Bartelik, told the story how his collection that was "never meant to be a collection" accidentally began. 

Acquiring the cultural posters from a friend who gave them to him after she failed to sell them, Bartelik donated the works to the collection of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. 

With the help of the Sacred Heart Polish Studies fund, the posters made their way to Sacred Heart. Bartelik chose these specifics posters with art gallery director Sophia Gevas because of their, "visual impact," she said. 

The abstract, graphic, some brightly colored and some black and white visuals did make an impact on visitors to the gallery. 

"They are intriguing and there is a lot to be interpreted. They are very sticking," said senior Donna Nolan, who is a graphic arts minor. 

The posters, which were created between 1954 to 1997, were created as street art for cultural elements in Poland, such as music, movies, theater, and operas. 

Unlike standard, modern day American advertisements, the Polish posters were edgy, bizarre, and some even interpreted them as violent. 

"One man told me he thought many of the posters were violent," said freshman Mareeka Dookie, who works at the gallery.  "He said they reminded him of war and Nazis."

Although they were from Poland, many of the poster had traces of American influences in them, as Bartelik pointed out was because of Poland's new activity into Western Culture.

One poster entitled, "American Painting from the Eighties," was a picture of  the American flag being painted by a paintbrush stamped with the phrase, "Made in the USA."

Other posters included familiar American names, like Sean Connery and 20th Century Fox. 

While there were many obvious American influences in some of the posters, Polish visitor, Agnes Orlowski, believed that this type of art wouldn't be accepted if it were on U.S streets. 

"It's disturbing. I don't think it would play out in America. It would be too controversial," she said. "Poland is darker than America."

However, her mother, Polish descendant Halina Orlowski, disagreed. 

"No, no. I could argue that," she said. 

While these creations may have been driven as advertisements, Bartelik explained that advertising was second priority to the artists. Their higher priorities were personal expression, releasing emotions, humor, and poetry.

By 1989, these semi homemade, expressive posters became obsolete compared to modernized posters using photographs. 

However, Baretlik said, "It is a period that is now extending into present reality. There has become more and more interest in what the posters say."

However, regardless of whether you understand the Polish words or not, Bartelik encourages viewers of the work to look beyond the unfamiliar language. 

"It's not so important to understand the language. Art is important when it touches your emotions. It's a conversation that invites you to speak," he said. 

One viewer who was struck emotional by the work was Sacred Heart alumnus Bill Adams.

  "They [the posters] say to me, however hard the censorship was, it is nearly impossible to kill the human spirit," he said. 

The "Voices in the Street" exhibit is open until March 1.