Political Posters

The “All Of Us Or None” (AOUON) archive project was started by Free Speech Movement activist Michael Rossman in 1977 to gather and document posters of modern progressive movements in the United States. Though some early works are included, its focus is on the domestic political poster renaissance that began in 1965 and continues to this day. When Rossman died May 12, 2008 his family donated the collection to the Oakland Museum of California. More …

The Archive gathered posters from all streams of progressive activity — from movements of protest, liberation, and affirmative action, trade union and community struggles, to electoral and environmental organizing, community services, and visionary manifestos. It is strongest in work from the San Francisco Bay Area, but its scope is national: approximately one-quarter of its holdings come from out of state, primarily New York City, Boston, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. These are complemented by a representation of international work. The collection consists of approximately 24,500 distinct titles.

The collection includes examples from well-known graphic artists including Malaquías Montoya, Emory Douglas, Rachael Romero, Rupert Garcia, Yolanda Lopez, Favianna Rodriguez, Carlos Cortez, Nancy Hom, Juan Fuentes, and Jos Sances, as well as material from seminal collective workshops such as La Raza Silkscreen, the Royal Chicano Air Force, Japantown Art and Media, Kearny Street Workshop, and Inkworks Press. Perhaps more important, the depth and breadth of the collection reveals the contribution of numerous lesser known or even anonymous artists whose cumulative impact on this democratic public art form has yet to be properly understood.

The cataloging of the AOUON Archive was made possible by a generous grant from the Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation.

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[Hokusai woodblock print] Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster with a reproduction of a Katsushika Hokusai woodblock print from the 1800s showing a Japanese man and woman lying down with their genitals exposed. A hand fan with Japanese writing on it is...	Stop Propaganda 1982 Poster with bold text in red at top reading "STOP PROPAGANDA." Below text are 12 illustrations of pink brains in gray rectangles.
Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace LucasFilm Ltd., publisher Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster for the motion picture Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Poster is designed with a collage of images from the movie including Anakin (young boy with blond hair and beige tunic, with...	I will forget simple words... Berkeley Tribe, publisher 1970 Poster from a two-page spread in Berkeley Tribe newspaper. Image is a negative photograph of a soldier in profile with a machine gun. The background transitions from red on the left to blue on the...
Rishashay Monte Dolack, artist, Released IMagination, publisher Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster for a Missoula, Montana fair trade jewelry store. Poster has an illustration of a puffin standing in front of a waterfall. Around the puffin are mushrooms, a fern, grass, frog, and bubbles...	Untitled 1979 Poster with typed articles in the format of a newspaper. Articles are related to the Yippie movement.
7th West Coast Computer Faire Robert Cameron, photographer 1982 Poster advertising the 7th West Coast Computer Faire in 1982. Poster shows a birdseye view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco coastline. The title is in orange text above, and below...	JStor Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster for JStor to advertise their archive of scholarly journals. Poster has a linocut illustration of a hand touching a circle/glob. Within the circle are images of books, art, mathematical and...
First Man on the Moon Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster with a 10 cent airmail stamp showing an illustration of an astronaut stepping onto the Moon''s surface. Space and the Earth in the distance are in the background. The stamp is on a black...	1987 Beyond War Award Beyond War, publisher 1987 Poster for the 1987 Beyond War Award for Peace Corps volunteers. At center is a quotation of a Peace Corp mission statement. Around the text are photographs of people of various ethnicities,...
Sebastiao Salgado: Workers 1993 Poster for a traveling art exhibition of Sebastiao Salgado photographs titled "Workers." Poster is black with gray text and a large black and white image with three miners at center. Text below...	Your Federal Tax Dollars at Work Jobs with Peace Campaign, publisher 1992 Poster titled "Your Federal Tax Dollars at Work" with a black and white pie chart showing the breakdown of where federal income tax dollars are spent. The large pie piece is Military with 47%. The...
A Fable California Campaign for Economic Democracy, publisher Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster with beige background and black text. Illustration across top half is a pond with a person drowing in the center. People srround the pond. Above is a fable about a stagnant pond in the...	National Computer Conference 1980 Poster advertising the National Computer Conference in 1980. Front of poster has a illustration of a man that is in a bitmapped style. He has striped computer paper coming out of the top of his...
End Corporate Loopholes Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster titled "End Corporate Loopholes" with a list of 40 corporations, their profits, and their tax rates from 1981-1984. Below the list is a paragraph of text about corporate tax expenditures (...	Those Who Make Peaceful Progress Impossible Make Violent Change Inevitable. J.F.K. Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster with illlustration of the U.S. flag along top, with the red stripes turning into arrows. Below on red background is quote from John F. Kennedy.
The Crow in the Cradle Ricardo Levins Morales, artist 1982 Poster with an image of a crow sitting on the edge of a brown cradle with blanket inside. Background is blue. In the cradle are the lyics to the song "The Crow on the Cradle" by Sydney Carter.	New World Disorder Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster in black and white with the text "New World Disorder" in block letters filling up the top half. Below right is a distorted face. There are also four fighter jets. At bottom is a block of...
Down to the Marketplace All the People Came... Northland Poster Collective Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster printed on white paper. At the top is a stylized multicolored image of people gathered at a marketplace.The bottom of the poster has alternating color lines - orange, blue, green, yellow -...	The Revolution Begins at Home Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster printed on white paper. At the center is a black background with diagonal scribbles of blue and pink and an illustration of a figure wearing a mask that covers his nose and mouth. At the...
A.P.M. Benefit 1984 Poster has pink, white and yellow ink printed on brown paper. The top has a background image of a city street and skyline with the text "A.P.M. / Benefit" and "New Generic / 2 Clinton Park SF /...	Fiesta del Acabe del Cafe Ricardo Levins Morales, artist 2003 Poster has white unprinted edges. At the center is a stylized color image of a woman in the forest tipping over a large basket of dirt and trees, with the dirt puring down into a large coffee mug...
Quackadero Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster printed on white paper with a stylized image of two cartoon figures riding in an orange craft with a face being pushed by a robot on wheels away from a giant robot-like building with "...	The hottest places in hell... Doug Minkler, artist 1988 Poster has an image in of a machine destroying buildings and dropping bombs. The image is in shades of orange, yellow, blue and green. Below the image reads, "The hottest places in hell are /...