Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Poster of the Week


Places the U.S. Has Bombed
Josh MacPhee
2004
Silkscreen

“I created this poster soon after the United States started bombing Afghanistan. Once again the government was attacking a country for its own foreign policy concerns. Around that time I stumbled upon a list of places the U.S. had bombed since World War II, compiled by the author William Blum. I was shocked by how long the list was and the dozens of countries on it that I had no idea the U.S. had attacked. I think the most successful posters use simple, strong images and text to convey a basic idea, and that’s what I was trying to do here. The sheer volume of bombs is shocking when you realize each one represents a country attacked. For me, art finds meaning in social context, and our contemporary context often seems bleak. I find it imperative to try to comment on it, to speak to the world around me, to criticize what I find is wrong, and put forth ideas of what a better world could look like.”

Artwork © 2007 Josh MacPhee
www.justseeds.org

Monday, October 26, 2009

Exciting New Poster Donation



170 stunning Chinese woodcuts from 1966-1969 were donated last week by David Kunzle, UCLA art historian and CSPG Board member. These powerful graphics were made during the early years of the Cultural Revolution, and feature Mao, international solidarity and opposition to the Viet Nam War. David was invited to China to speak about Rodolphe Töpffer, a 19th century Swiss writer-artist, considered to be the father of the comic strip and the graphic novel, at an conference on the comic and animation.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

R.I.P. Nancy Spero


Torture in Chile
Nancy Spero
Silkscreen, 1975
New York, NY
"Nancy Spero, Artist of Feminism, Is Dead at 83," New York Times, October 19, 2009

Poster of the Week


Oh, So That Explains the Difference in Our Salaries!
Artist Unknown

Nothing is known about the origins of this anonymously designed image of two toddlers looking into their diapers to discover the differences between them. It has appeared on posters, buttons and coffee mugs since the 1970s and may have been designed much earlier. The longevity of the image can be compared to the Rosie the Riveter poster of the 1940s. Its popularity is due as much to its simplicity and humor as to its continued relevance. The persistence of the problem it depicts – wage inequity based on gender – is on­going. In the 1970s, women earned fifty-nine cents to every dollar earned by men; today they earn seventy-two cents. The version shown here was reproduced in 1988 by Northern Sun Merchandising in Minneapolis.

If you know something about this image, please contact us.


Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Poster of the Week


Health Care is a Human Right!

Juan Fuentes
Offset
1995
United States

Juan Fuentes will receive the Art is a Hammer Award at our 20th Anniversary Celebration this Saturday, October 17 at 6:30 pm at Union Station.

Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape i
t. –Vladimir Mayakovsky

Juan Fuentes is a Bay Area artist, cultural activist, teacher, and founder of Pajaro Editions, a printmaking studio. He has been producing political posters and prints addressing cultural, social, and community issues for over 30 years. Buy tickets online now

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Blast from the Past: Carol Wells on the LA Peace Press

"Made in L.A. -- The L.A. Peace Press" CSPG director and founder Carol Wells and Los Angeles Valley College professor Henry Klein speak with Dateline USA host Duncan Elkinson about the L.A. Peace Press, April 22, 2005.


Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Poster of the Week


Uncle George Wants You
Stephen Kroninger
Offset, 1991
United States

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Poster of the Week


Healthcare Not Wealthcare

ACT UP

Offset

1992