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Posted by A FRIEND OF PRINTERESTING on February 28th, 2010 | GUEST POST by Abra Ancliffe.
Not too long after the invention of moveable type in Mainz, Germany in 1453, the printed multiple was used as an act of protest against the ruling class: the Catholic Church. Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by nailing his oft-mentioned 95 Theses to the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) doors in 1546 in protest against the Catholic Church’s use of indulgences. The 95 Theses were subsequently printed by multiple presses and disseminated around Europe.
It is in this tradition of protest and activism that the amazing exhibition now on display at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Signs of Change: Social Movement Cultures 1960s to Now must be viewed. Curated by Dara Greenwald and Josh MacPhee (founder of JustSeeds) as part of Exit Art’s Curatorial Incubator Program, the exhibition brings together hundreds of protest / activist / social justice posters alongside videos, photographs and other printed ephemera from the past 50 years. As the Exit Now website states:
Organized thematically, the exhibition presents the creative outpourings of social movements, such as those for Civil Rights and Black Power in the United States; democracy in China; anti-apartheid in Africa; squatting in Europe; environmental activism and women’s rights internationally; and the global AIDS crisis, as well as uprisings and protests, such as those for indigenous control of lands; against airport construction in Japan; and student and worker revolution in France. The exhibition also explores the development of powerful counter-cultures that evolve beyond traditional politics and create distinct aesthetics, life-styles, and social organization.
On display are a dizzying array of print processes: from spray paint stencils & relief prints carved on desk rubber-mats to offset lithographs and screenprints. The exhibition will be on view at Feldman Gallery + Project Space of Pacific Northwest College of Art (1241 N.W. Johnson St. Portland, Oregon) until March 17, 2010.
 Women’s Liberation Movement, 1960’s – present, including You Should be Cannon Fodder, a lithograph made in Israel, 1990
 The Palestinian Intifada, 1987- present including posters made in Israel & Palestine.
Continue reading Signs of Change at PNCA
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Posted by Jason Urban on December 8th, 2009 | 
With Iranian protests in the news, it may be a good time to consider the future of political graphics and their traditional material form- the poster. A fundamental truth of Printmaking is it’s identity as “the democratic art.” Sometimes to the point of cliche, prints are cited as a tool of political empowerment. While fine art prints often live in a world of white-walled galleries and archival framing, print media still exists as a means of disseminating information and rallying movements. The real change for the political print in recent years is its distribution model.
Rather than a printer toiling away in a shop, producing posters by the stack, images are communicated electronically and “the people” print their own. While something tactile is lost, the political print is a utilitarian object and must ultimately use the means most suited to it’s end. In 2009, that translates into downloadable graphics and the desktop printer. Here are some examples from Iran…
Which is not to say the old-fashioned approach to poster production is completely gone. LA street artist Brohmeini made some solid iconic posters over the summer inspired by events in Iran. See more pics after the jump.
 Continue reading Iranian Political Graphics
Posted by Jason Urban on November 23rd, 2008 | From Shepard Fairey to Ray Noland and Ron English to Antar Dayal, finally, a huge collection of Obama posters in one place. Now you just need to get to the Dominican Republic to see them!
Glennys Anglada has amassed more than seventy different Obama posters for “El Arte Como Politica y La Politica Como Arte,” at the Barna Business School in Santa Domingo.
Posted by Jason Urban on November 1st, 2008 |
Posted by Jason Urban on October 13th, 2008 |  2000 Presidential Election Posters by Robbie Conal
Note that both candidates get equal treatment
There is an article in the Los Angeles Times today about painter and guerilla poster artist Robbie Conal. The story by Irene Lacher coincides with No Kicking, No Spitting, a Conal retrospective at Track 16 in Santa Monica, CA. Conal’s work has been critiquing politicians and media elite since the eighties; poster campaigns of his groteseque portraits have appeared on city streets (and in galleries) all over the country. With so many artists weighing in on politics these days, it’s interesting to look back at Conal’s prolific oeuvre.
Below is the short version of the 1992 documentary Post No Bills by Clay Walker and Maryanne Dissard. The documentary “foregrounds the tension between Conal’s creative process and the lures of a desperate notoriety achieved through catering to the newsmedia’s craving for controversy in his journey to benefit financially from the dual life of his work.”
In stark contrast to past works, a recent poster from Conal actually reads as an endorsement instead of critique! Can Obama be the first politician to dodge the wrath of Robbie Conal? I’d like to think it’s possible but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Posted by RL Tillman on September 27th, 2008 | 
The debates are underway, so you should probably pick up these dandy posters from Yee-Haw Industries before the election is old news. Click the image for a more detailed view, if you dare!
Posted by Jason Urban on May 21st, 2008 | Here’s a link a Washington Post story that provides a good summary.
Variations keep coming in… positive… and negative.
 
Continue reading “I Got a Crush… on Obama’s Poster” Part III
Posted by Jason Urban on May 14th, 2008 | Robert’s comments on the first Obama post peaked my curiosity and once I started looking around, I was amazed to find so many variants and parodies on the Obey political poster.
Obeythepurebreed features a ridiculous quantity of pet-related merch in the style of Fairey’s Obey campaign. Also on the site are somewhat cheap-looking Barack Obama and Ron Paul posters. As far as I can tell, these are offsets (as opposed to screenprints) so I don’t think would have the same physical impact. They don’t really have the same resonance as images either.
 
Continue reading “I Got a Crush… on Obama’s Poster” Part II
Posted by Jason Urban on May 11th, 2008 | 
Okay, so Shepard Fairey is the last artist to need more exposure and these Obama silkscreen posters have already made the blog rounds but I think they justify a post on Printeresting. Fairey’s Obama Progress poster (36″x 24″) was produced in an edition of 350 and sold out from his website before being released back in January. The Hope version of the poster (pictured above) was delivered directly to the Obama campaign for distribution. Fairey’s website has posted a thank you letter from Barack himself (one that seems to condone putting stickers on stop signs- could this be the next non-issue in the battle for the presidency?).
More recently, the poster has led to a sticker campaign (a la Obey). On April 10th the Obama website announced the release of the Hope stickers available for purchase through Stickerobot. Gee, I can’t imagine why Obama is getting the youth vote.
On a less topical note, it’s interesting to me that Shepard Fairey who is so famous as a guerilla street artist may be the closest thing we have to a mainstream printmaker.
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