The Persistent, Polarizing Protest Poster

When

Friday, October 9, 2015

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM

PosterInvite_thumbnail

Friday, October 9

7-9pm

With its inherent graphic power and immediacy, the poster is the ur-form of activist visual communication, its scale and situation marry public space with printed space, commanding the attention of the passerby. Posters lept from advertising to social movements in the early 20th century and have remained at their heart ever since. However, public spaces in which posters flourished are fading fast and the printing that made posters the most immediate and necessary medium are being eclipsed by other technologies.

This session will look at the history of protest posters in particular and the application of bold ‘poster-style’ composite to other media. We are excited to spur a discussion on the ways in which designers, artists, and other visual thinkers can harness the graphic power of posters for new visual tools that can help social movements to organize and communicate in novel and dramatic new ways.

To kick off the session, participants are asked to read Susan Sontag’s (still) provocative essay “Posters: Advertisement, Art, Political Artifact, Commodity.”

Facilitated by Sam Holleran and Greg Mihalko.
RSVP encouraged: classes@interferencearchive.org

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