Get the Vote Out!
2020 is a year filled with unprecedented events – the Pandemic, Black Lives Matter Protests, Wildfires, and more. AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Artists) is one organization working toward getting the vote out to make sure we save our democracy. With their "Get Out the Vote" campaign, AIGA is encouraging members to create posters and submit for both "Get Out the Vote 2020" and "Get Out the Vote: Empowering the Women's Vote." Both submission checklists require posters are nonpartisan to comply with nonprofit guidelines.While submission requires AIGA membership, viewing the gallery of posters does not and visitors are encouraged to share the posters widely with full credit to the designer.If you are a US citizen, take a look at the gallery of posters for sharing. If you are an AIGA member, look into designing a poster yourself—and above all else, Get the Vote Out!
Celebrating Mother's Day
Mother’s Day is a celebration that honors our mothers and the influence of mothers in society. It's usually celebrated with flowers and gifts. The truth is the horrors and atrocities that exist in our world and flies in the face of these rituals."Women's Rights are Human Rights: International Posters on Gender-based Inequality, Violence, and Discrimination,” is an exhibit organized and curated by Elizabeth Resnick, professor of graphic design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. The 84 posters presented challenge viewers to acknowledge the challenges women face around the world.The exhibit opened at Mass Art last Fall and is traveling internationally with events already hosted in Taipei, Seoul, Greece, and Mexico. The posters are currently installed in the B2 Gallery of the Warsaw Poster Museum.The unframed exhibition is available to travel internationally for a small rental fee. Please contact Elizabeth Resnick (Elizabeth.Resnick@massart.edu) if you are interested.This year as we celebrate Mother's Day, let's give some thought to how mothers throughout the world are treated and consider ways to help.Sources:http://posterpage.ch/exhib/ex350wom/ex350wom.htmhttps://news.northeastern.edu/2017/03/new-poster-exhibit-reinforces-that-womens-rights-are-human-rights/http://www.graphicart-news.com/womens-rights-are-human-rights/#.WRBCBFPyvBVhttp://www.printmag.com/daily-heller/womens-rights-posters/http://eyemagazine.com/blog/post/human-rights-by-any-other-name
Protesting through Design
Weeks before the Ferguson grand jury handed down their verdict, students in my graphic design class chose police brutality as their topic for a social awareness project. It was interesting and disturbing to see some of the facts that unfolded as they presented their research and drafts. When the grand jury decided not to indict in the Eric Garner case a few weeks later, we watched as their chosen topic became even hotter. We watched as people reacted with incredulity and horror. We watched as our small exhibit of the class’ posters stirred up controversy—creating heated conversations among those who loved the work and those who felt it was too one-sided.People are getting swept up in emotional outrage and are taking to the streets, marching on Washington, blocking traffic, and staging protests and die-ins against what they feel has been a serious injustice. Many echo the thoughts of Russell Simmons, who stated during a recent CNN interview that in over 150,000 cases that came before a grand jury, only 11 chose not to indict. The lack of indictments in these two most recent cases seems unbelievably one-sided.At times like this it’s important to look at the facts and the big picture. When doing so, we may become even more outraged.You can view more art from artists around the world protesting against the Ferguson verdict:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/05/ferguson-art_n_6257340.htmlSources:http://www.occupy.com/article/millions-march-december-13-anger-over-police-violence-sweeps-nationhttp://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/us/police-slayings-reaction-roundup/
A great big club with spikes
In a video interview with Hillman Curtis, graphic designer James Victore likens graphic design to a great big club with spikes on it, best used to hit people over the head with.Graphic Design Advocacy—International Posters for the Digital Age: 2001-2012, is a traveling exhibit that does just that. Curated by Elizabeth Resnick from MassArt, the exhibit features 122 posters spanning the first decade of this century that address some of the most controversial and heart-breaking issues of our time. War, 9-11, the Gulf oil spill, global warming, human trafficking, and the tsunami in Japan are just some of the moments captured. In an interview for Print Magazine with Steven Heller, Resnick talks about the effect the internet has had on poster design, “the Internet has enabled designers to make and post visual commentaries without concern for the costs of labor, printing, and posting their work to air their opinions.”The exhibit has traveled across the globe for the past year, both on site and online, and is still traveling. While many lament the disappearance of print, it’s comforting to know that one of the strongest visual vehicles for protest and dissent—the poster—is still a powerful agent of advocacy. It’s inspiring to see what graphic designers can create as they wield their great big clubs with spikes.Sources:http://graphicadvocacyposters.org/posters/http://www.printmag.com/design-inspiration/graphic-advocacy-takes-a-stand/