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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Gegen Sexismus Late 20th Early 21st Century Top of poster has a green background with foreign text repeated in darker green. Over the words is a black and white image of two frail hands grasping a neck tie. At the bottom of the poster, the...	Come Out! 1997 Poster printed on white paper. At the top is "Come out!" in orange. At the center is a color photo of two shirtless men popping through a white wall. At the bottom is "be yourself" in orange. At...
Shaft Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a black printed background with white text and images. At the top is "Leather And Jeans Bar / schiedamsesingel 137 / tussen de cosmonaut en Gay Palace". Below the text is an inverted...	Agenda 1992 1992 Poster has black ink printed on white paper. At th etop left and right is a magazine cover - The Web - with the image of a man in front of a spider web and "Amsterdam" at the bottom. Centered...
Playas Tropicales Arenosas 1988 Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a multicolor stylized image of a tropical beach filled with native wildlife. Across the top is "Playas Tropicales Arenosas" in black. Poster verso has...	Peace? Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a black printed background. At the top is "Peace?" in white. At the bottom are stylized red and green flowers. Across the bottom is "The Peace Pledge Union Works For A Future Without...
Cockring 1994 Poster hs black printed edges enclosing a purple, pink and blue marbled background. At the top is the EuroPride" logo in blue and white. At the right is a large blue and gray ring. Across the...	UN Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a blue background with a white and yellow spotlight shining on a black "UN". At the bottom of the poster is "United Nations Week October 17-24 / UN Day...
untitled (homosexual liberation) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a yellow pritned background with a red line border. At the top is "Luchando Por / Nuestros Derechos / Luchando Por / Nuestras Vida" in black. At the center are five black and white...	Gay 1986 Poster printed on white paper. At the top is "Semana Cultural" in black and "Dedicada A Jean Genet Y Simone De Beauvoir / Gay" in pink with the tail of the final "Y" extending down to the bottom...
untitled (polluted earth) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a green background. At the top left is a dolphin/human logo with black foreign text. At the center is a green, blue and brown earth with black stylized...	Pacific Peace Festival 1982 Poster printed on white paper. At the top is a Pacific Peace Festival logo with palm trees and music notes. Below the logo is "December 12th 1982 Auckland New Zealand / The Pacific Peace Festival...
untitled (child holding dove) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster printed on white paper. At the top is "Eipnvn" in black. At the center is a multicolor reproduction of a painting showing a little girl holding a dove. At the bottom of the poster is "peace...	Gaiety Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a gradient background that transitions from green at the top to orange at the bottom. At the top is "Gaiety" in black. At the center is a stylized image of a yellow man with a moustache...
untitled (people trapped below cannon) 1978 Poster has a stylized black and white image of a large cannon with people trapped below its platform with pens, paper, and briefcases. Lounging on the cannon is a figure in uniform and a US hat,...	untitled (classroom) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has blue ink printed on white paper. At the top is "styrelsesvalget / Et Kritisk Og Samfunds- / Relevant Studium! / Bedre Studiefaciliteter!" Below the text is a photo fo an auditorium...
Tom's Bar Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on yellow paper. At the top is "Tom''s Bar". At the center is an illustration of the profile of a man in a cowboy hat. Across the bottom is a Berlin address.	Greenham Common 1984 1984 Poster has black ink printed on white paper with a stylized background image of a watchtower looking over a barbed wire and chain link fence. At the top is "Greenham Common 1984 / not Auschwitz...
untitled (woman and child) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a blue printed background. At the bottom is a white and green map of Scandinavia. Over the land is a yellow image of a woman holding an infant. At the bottom right is white foreign text...	Sign Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster printed on white paper. At the top is "Sign the appeal / from Hiroshima and Nagasaki!" in orange, "for a total ban and elimination of nuclear weapons" in gray, and "along with the survivors...
Perugia 1982 Poster has a blue printed background with black text - "peace" repeated in various languages. At the top is "XVII / Triennale / WRI-IRG" in white. At the center is a black and white circle filled...	Larzac 1981 Poster has a blue printed background with black at the bottom. At the top is "Larzac" in black. At the center is a red and yellow sun with an eye at the center that has a blue and white earth in...
Volksinstrumentalisten Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a red printed background. At the top is "Volksinstrumentalisten / aus Vietnam" in white. At the right is a black and red stylized image of a woman playing a banjo-like instrument with a...	Love Music 1991 Poster printed on white paper with a black and white background image of rubble. At the bottom left is a black circle with a pig at the center with a swastika on his hip and a hekment on his head...