On the evening of February 16, a group of about 20 artists, designers, muralists, art historians and activists gathered at Interference Archive in Gowanus, Brooklyn, to discuss a selection of posters that have emerged out of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The event was organized by Occuprint—a collaborative project that curates, collects, prints and distributes various posters and graphics by and for the global Occupy movement. The Archive grew out the personal collection of its co-founder, artist Josh MacPhee. This unique space houses an impressive volume of print objects created as part of various social justice movements. One of its goals is to allow this kind of art to exist outside of dominant institutions (that may not be sympathetic to OWS) and instead take it into “the commons”— making it thereby more accessible to a greater range of artists and activists.
The Occuprint event was an energizing experience. The posters hanging on the walls represented a wide range of ideas, slogans and executions. It was exciting and affecting to see just how many artists and designers had been impacted by the Occupy movement. The passion in their work was evident. During the discussion, the politics and implications of the images in the posters were hashed out and debated; opinions were exchanged on the importance and problems of text, slogans and general aesthetics. Ultimately, the discussion transcended its original original aim of reviewing the posters, and progressed into a wonderfully inspiring brainstorm on how Occupy art could become as impactful and unforgettable as possible.
The posters reviewed during the Occuprint event elicited a variety of reactions and contrasting opinions, which made for a dynamic discussion. One example of this was the “Occupy Everything” poster. Some saw tremendous power in its blankness and argued that the message of the movement was effectively crystalized in the simple graphic. Others noted that the poster’s starkness made it lack emotional resonance, and that it was unclear who the protagonist was.
A poster with the slogan “You Are On Our Watch” hit a nerve. Unwarranted police brutality and attacks on peaceful OWS protesters during the past 6 months have uncovered the ugly reality of a police state. The shout “The whole world is watching!” had become a ubiquitous presence on videos of police assaulting innocent people. The poster reminded protestors of the power of their recording devices. While everyone agreed that the message was essential, some disliked the cubist style of the poster and wondered why the images of riot police were not made more realistic. Others were unclear about the ultimate destination of the poster and where it would be most effective: amongst protestors, or on the wall of a police precinct.
The poster for Occupy Oakland has in many ways become synonymous with the Occupy movement. The image of the protestor waving an Occupy flag, while facing down a riot gear army, evoked feelings of courage and triumph. However, some at the event disliked that protestors were (inaccurately) represented by a single figure; and that the enemy was defined solely by police, boiling the movement down to an “Us against Them” sentiment.
The Monopoly Tower poster was singled out for its creative execution. The object of the beloved board game (also a popular event at McDonalds—a massive & corrupt corporation) is to accumulate the most money; inarguably, the game taught children the concept of wealth and big business. With this in mind, the Monopoly Man becomes a potent symbol of universal greed, as effectively shown on the poster. To view the entire collection of over 250 posters, please visit http://occuprint.org/Posters
Being originally from Russia, I see parallels between the Occupy Wall Street movement and Perestroika—a period of reform in the former Soviet Union in the mid to late 80’s, initiated by then-head-of-state Mikhail Gorbachev. One of the movement’s main policies—Glasnost— was designed to usher in a new era of greater freedom of information and governmental transparency. These government-intiated policies (imagine if OWS was an initiative of the US government…) ultimately took on a life of their own, leading to the collapse of the Soviet Union and an end to the Cold War. In reflecting on all that movement accomplished, it is impossible to ignore the artwork that emerged during that time. In hindsight, it is clear that it had a huge impact on the mind set of the population. “Artists had rediscovered the power of their weapon, and crowds of people would gather in front of their works.” (from “The Russian Poster”, published by the Russian State Library) What also made the political art of that era particularly interesting was that, contrary to prior Russian art like Constructivism and Socialist Realism, it was beautifully non-conformist and free from the constraints of one unifying aesthetic. Here are a few unique examples:
The writing on the plate reads, “The one who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat”– a popular Communist slogan. The shattered plate, its fractures are the hammer and sickle symbol, is a powerful metaphor for the crumbling Soviet regime.
The movement reinergized the consciousness of the country in many ways, including bringing about a new environmental awareness. “The fate of the planet—is your fate.”
“Don’t wait for orders!” implores this poster, intended to encourage autonomy and initiative amongst the people.
The artist humorously yet poignantly depicted the great men of Communist ideology-Marx, Engels and Lenin as inflated with ideals of little practical value. The words “They great are only great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!” surround the image— the motto of the newspaper “Les Révolutions de Paris,” a paper which appeared from July 12, 1789 to February 28, 1794.
The radical changes born out of Perestroika once seemed unfathomable, almost fantastical. And yet they occurred, largely thanks to the persistent, unified action of the people. So what kind of changes and improvements in the United States right now seem so radical as to feel impossible?.. The dismantling of the military-industrial complex?.. And end to factory farming?.. Quality education and healthcare made accessible to every child?.. If they feel impossible, then they are worth striving for.
Towards the end of the Occuprint discussion, Rodrigo Dorfman—a Chilean filmmaker who was in attendance— shared a few stories from his youth. He described how in the mid-80’s, young activists would defy the nightly curfew imposed by the Chilean dictatorship, and put up giant posters under the cover of darkness. “WE ARE NOT AFRAID” and “JUSTICE FOR THE DISAPPEARED” were some of the slogans on the posters, painted in huge block letters. Rodrigo recalled how he went out to film one of these actions with the full knowledge that he could get shot on the spot. This was the kind of risk activists faced in order to bring these posters to the public, to inspire and motivate people, to give them hope; and to stand up to the tyranny of the authorities.
And this was the question we were left with: What kind of poster is worth getting arrested for?.. or even worth getting shot at for? This poster must be of tremendous urgency and relevance; it must agitate and disturb; it must stop you dead in your tracks; it must enlighten and inspire you to act. This poster must be so compelling that distributing it becomes essential. This poster requires courage.
Art is indeed a weapon, and an especially powerful one in the midst of a peaceful movement.
In 2012 Occuprint will be producing thousands of posters and printed materials for Occupations around the country. If you would like to support Occuprint’s efforts you can contribute to their Kickstarter fundraising campaign → HERE
Originally published on sparrowmedia.net
(Susie Husted is a Boston-based social justice activist. Her relationship with the Foundry dates back to 2005 when the Foundry invited her and other Boston Social Forum organizers to speak at a social forum teach-in for NYC artists.)
New York City’s Foundry Theatre sets a rigorous standard for artist and activist collaboration. In 2010, they re-imagined their city through a intense series of public forums exploring topics from the policing of sex and gender to isolation and injustice in the workplace, and produced five new theatrical works this spring for their NYC…Just Like I Pictured It festival including an adaptation of the 1937 labor musical Pins & Needles in collaboration with FUREE, Families United for Racial and Economic Equality, running at Brooklyn’s Irondale Center through July 9.
Boston will have a chance to experience the Foundry’s unique theatrical vision this summer and fall with the production How Much is Enough: Our Values in Question, exploring the fundamental concepts of value in our communities. Partially inspired by reading Marx’s Capital, playwright Kirk Lynn, and Foundry artistic director, Melanie Joseph, have developed a production requiring an interactive audience for each rehearsal – giving the Boston public a unique opportunity to help create and shape the play before it officially hits the stage. Check the ArtsEmerson website for August rehearsal and September show dates. (For NYC folks, email the Foundry for July rehearsals in Manhattan.)
How Much is Enough is the Foundry’s third collaboration with Austin-based Kirk Lynn after 2006’s Major Bang, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Dirty Bomb, and 2001’s Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century, an adaptation of Marcus Griel’s cult classic of the same name.
Founded by Melanie Joseph in 1994, the Foundry’s productions have been critically recognized and honored with eight Obie Awards and three Drama Desk nominations for “Unique Theatrical Experience.” In 2000, The Foundry received the Ross Wetzsteon Obie Award for its “overall contribution to the Off and Off-Off Broadway community” as a theater that both “fosters new envelope-pushing work and that engages artists in the thorniest issues of the world we inhabit” and most recently received the 2011 national Peter Zeisler Award in recognition of “innovative practice and dedication to freedom of expression.”
Kirk Lynn is a playwright-in-residence at the University of Texas at Austin, and co-founder and Co-Producing Artistic Director of the Austin theater collective Rude Mechanicals. Kirk’s original scripts include Pale Idiots, Cherrywood, Requiem for Tesla, and El Paraiso: An Humiliation of Pleasures.
(Susie Husted is social justice activist inspired by projects exploring art and activism in the Boston area including those of the LPC and Rough Mountain Studios.)
Longtime Boston radical bookstore, Lucy Parsons Center, has purchased its own storefront after more than forty years of operation. They are moving on up to 358A Centre Street this summer.
Before this move, LPC had been at the same home for more than a dozen years. 549 Columbus Ave has seen hundreds of local, national and international radicals gather for organizing meetings, potlucks, book talks and much more over the years – and thanks to the building owner, the tradition will not stop once LPC moves to its new home in Jamaica Plain next month.
The building owner at 549 Columbus Ave has turned down offers from major chain stores, deciding instead to rent to Justin Francese and Danielle Connor from Rough Mountain Studios. The two collaborators are turning the site in a social justice and mission-drive artists collective. Planned as combined work, inspiration, collaboration and gallery space, 549 Columbus Ave has not seen the last of the radicals yet!
Joining Rough Mountain Studios at Columbus Ave are Quilted (Ben Mauer, web development), Golden Arrows (Nerissa Cooney & Alex Hage, graphic design) and Kelly Creedon (documentary photography & multimedia production), but space is still available for other interested artists!
An Open House for friends and potential collaborators will be Monday, July 11th, 6-9:00pm.
Contact Justin and Danielle at CreativeCoopSpace@gmail.com for more information!
(Susie Husted is a Boston-based social justice activist who acted as a community advisor to Artists in Context’s conference planning. Susie’s been a strategic player in the planning of many Boston-based events including the annual HONK! Festival, 2010 Food not Bombs 30th Anniversary Festival and A People’s Celebration of Howard Zinn, as well as city-wide student teach-ins and regional anti-war demonstrations.)
Hybrid practice is not new, but in Boston, a community of practice around inter-disciplinary, inter-sectional, collaborative and socially engaged art is emerging. In that respect, Boston-based arts organization, Artists in Context, forged new ground this weekend. Over 100 local activists, academics and artists gathered at Artist in Context’s Connected & Consequential conference to witness each other’s work, and begin laying the ground from which to develop and understand the mechanisms, scope, and intentional practice of hybrid art in greater Boston.
Founded by Louisa McCall and Marie Cieri in 2009, AIC seeks to support the research-based, multidisciplinary, embedded practices of contemporary artists and other creative thinkers who seek to invent alternative approaches to existing societal challenges. Connected & Consequential in Boston was AIC’s first large city-wide event to develop a community of practice in New England. Additional gatherings on the same theme are planned for the fall 2011 in Providence, Rhode Island, Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley and Maine, as well as workshops and community dialogues to further explore the specificity of hybrid practice in greater Boston.
What follows is a summary of the Greater Boston Connected & Consequential events in the participants own words.
“Bearing witness takes a long time, “but is necessary “to let the call from the community be authentic, and our answer be authentic.”
Michael Dowling, Medicine
Wheel Productions, Stories from
the Field panel
“The question from the community wasn’t ‘what will [the project] look like?’, but ‘what will it say?’”
Gavin Kroeber & Dan Borelli
Case Study: Crossing the Rubicon, a project-in-progress with the community of Ashland, MA about the Nyanza Superfund Site.“I don’t want to be a ‘parachute’ artist.”
John Osorio-Buck
Stories from the Field panel
Kelly Dobson’s “Blendie Diagram” (2003-2004). Dobson joined Artistic Director of Artlink, Edinburgh, Alison Stirling, and artists Steve Hollingsworth and Wendy Jacob on AIC’s Ideas Team case study.
We sought to “make machines with the agency of care.”
Kelly Dobson, Case Study: Ideas Team
“We reached organizational overwhelm. We said, ‘we’re doing a lot of stuff – but is it effective?”
“We want to address huge issues and how they trickle down into our neighborhoods,” but by silo-ing our different practices (cultural organizing, arts and activism), “we structurally set ourselves up to not meet our goals. We have to think more deeply about how we connect these issues.”
Mariamma White-Hammond, Project HIP HOP,
Stories from the Field panel
We “embrace complexity and find a container that creates connections”
Andi Sutton, National Bitter Melon Council
Stories from the Field panel
Video clips, conference findings and future programs will be posted at the Artists in Context website this summer.
(Anne Elizabeth Moore is an author, editor, artist, teacher, and Groundswell guest blogger. She divides her time between Chicago and Cambodia, where she teaches young women the art of self-publishing.)
Material Exchange’s Soup Repair (2009)
Material Exchange, the IL artists with a project on display in Buffalo, NY called Repair Shop (alongside Adam Bobbette and InCUBATE), sat down with me for an interview a few weeks ago. Here’s an excerpt:
Calling them recyclers misses the point. Chicago-based artist’s group Material Exchange makes use of the detritus of our consumer culture, sure. But not to save you money that you can turn around and spend on other consumer goods. No: Material Exchange wants you to think about the objects you surround yourself with. What purpose do they serve now? And to what better use might they be put in the future?
Often, even the final object created is merely the start of the work—which can include a social event, permanent installation, or public resource. Last winter, as part of the touring sustainable art exhibition Beyond Green, Material Exchange built an elaborate structure in the shape of a turtle from an old boat alongside students at Northern Michigan University. The structure was then set out in the middle of the frozen lake by a group of volunteers, where it remained a static sculpture throughout the winter. In the spring, the ice melted and the sculpture sunk to the bottom of the lake. No longer an aesthetic object of admiration, nor a useful vehicle, the old boat—built to the Department of Natural Resources’ specifications—was now a fish habitat.
“We can only guess at how well it’s working,” the group’s John Preus explains.
Now, for the kicker—and I think one of the tricks with work that sits at the intersection between social change and art—check their documentation of this project.
Damn clever, innit?
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