In Pictures: Arresting protest art from 1970s US student activists
- Text by Adam White
- Photography by American Flag [Untitled], 1970. Courtesy Shapero Modern.
Berkeley University in California has long been associated with student activism. Starting with the free-speech protests and the beginnings of the counterculture movement in the 1960’s, to the week-long rallies against police violence in 2014, and everything in between.
The posters stem from demonstrations against a wave of militant conservatism in the early 1970’s. Not only the 1970 massacre of four unarmed students at Kent State University by members of the National Guard, but also the continued Vietnam War and President Nixon’s decision to reinstate the military draft.
Belloli (Jay), Amerika is Devouring Its Children, 1970. Courtesy Shapero Modern.
The posters themselves are the work of the university’s Political Poster Workshop, a campus collective of art, design and politics students. In the wake of the Kent State killings, the group immediately launched a production line of silk-screening and cardboard printing for protest, with the 50 posters on display the last remaining relics of their demonstrations.
Barry Miles, curator of the exhibit, says that the posters are “a frozen snapshot of American graphic design at the end of the sixties, as well as a unique sociological record of a society in crisis.”
Your Son Next?, 1970. Courtesy Shapero Modern.
Imagi-Nation, 1970. Courtesy Shapero Modern.
Bring Us Together, 1970. Courtesy Shapero Modern.
Did We Really Come In Peace For All Mankind?, 1970. Courtesy Shapero Modern.
Fascist Infested!, 1970. Courtesy Shapero Modern.
Amerika, 1970. Courtesy Shapero Modern.
Find out more about America in Revolt: The Art of Protest, at Shapero Modern until February 27.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
Washing strangers’ feet at Houghton Festival
Pedilavium — As part of artist Henry Krokatsis’s performance piece at the weekender, we sat down with over 30 others to clean the dusty digits of passersby, while reflecting on the power of collective ritual and human connection.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Inside Yoshiwara, Japan’s oldest red light district
Asasuka soaplands — Despite numerous fires and harshening sex work laws, the centuries old area continues to persevere in East Tokyo. Manami Okazaki traces its history and meets people who shape its present.
Written by: Manami Okazaki
Gold-tinged togetherness as Londoners flock to Primrose Hill for the solar eclipse
Celestial gathering — Ella Glossop photographs the once in decades event from one the city’s most popular gathering spots, and the community spirit that encapsulated the moment.
Written by: Ella Glossop
Surveying community and resistance in LGBTQ+ nightlife
Sex, Clubs Dissent — A new book collates queer nightlife photography over the past 50 years, and the people who found refuge and safe spaces after dark.
Written by: Miss Rosen
In photos: Electric nights in ’70s Japan
Tokyo–Koza — Keizō Kitajima’s new photobook explores the explosion of party culture of Tokyo and Okinawa during an era of rapid change in the country, as well as its stranger turns.
Written by: Miss Rosen
“Magazines are cultural artefacts”: magCulture’s Jeremy Leslie on the enduring importance of print
We love magazines — Despite the ever creeping digitalisation of the world and culture, physical objects are taking on different, yet vital, roles in culture today. Ella Glossop chats to one of London’s biggest proponents of the art about why we need to support independent publications.
Written by: Ella Glossop
