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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Colombia Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a blue and white spotted/wavy line background. At the top is "Colombia" in black with "Emergency" over the top in red. At the center, black lines of lopsided text describe the human...	untitled (naked man) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a color image of a naked man with glasses and a cigar lounging on a panda fur rug.
Star Trek 1993 Poster has a stylized color image of a large space craft flying through outer space by a large planet. At the top left is "...to boldly go where no one has gone before." in white. At the bottom...	Gabriel Kaplan Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a stylized image of a planet at the right, with the black expanse of space at the left. Orange, red and purple popsicles fly around the planet, crashing into it and creating craters. At...
Angels on Ice 1994 Poster has a blue printed background with a stylized image of a brown figure with blue and pink/purple wings ice skating at the center. At the top of the poster is "a skating spectacular to fund...	Fight AIDS 1994 Poster has a yellow printed background with a purple inverted triangle at the top. Over the triangle is "fight to live / fight to live / fight AIDS" in red with two horizontal black bars between...
The Constitution of the United States Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has blue and red ink printed on white paper. At the top is "The Constitution / of the United States" flanked on both sides by American flags. The rest of the poster has four columns of text...	National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee 1973 Poster printed on white paper. At the top is a beige background with black, blue, yellow and red shapes. At the top left is "you have not converted a man / because you have silenced him" in black...
Patriotism Doug Minkler, artist 1983 Poster printed on white paper. At the top is an abstract image with flags (American) at the top. At the bottom of the poster is black text: "Patriotism / Patriotism is as fierce as a fever,...	Shop to stop AIDS Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on white paper. At the top left is "shop to stop aids." The poster has two female models posing together in "7th on sale san francisco" shirts. The bottom edge of the...
Jesus Christ Superstar 1971 Poster printed in neon colors. At the top is a stylized black and white image of Jesus'' face, with his eyes tinted blue, set on the top three appendages of a cross with blue rays radiating from...	Sweet White Dream Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on white paper. At the top is "sexy, saucy, sizzling!" Down the right side is "Chuck Angel / presents / Sweet /White / Dream / starring / Melba Walsh". At the left is...
The Bill of Rights 1991 Laminated poster printed on white paper with a yellow, scroll-like background. Across the top is "The Bill of Rights / the original Constitution was signed in 1787. many people agreed to support...	untitled (rose) 1981 Poster printed on white paper with a red border and black background. At the center is a red rose with a green stem and leaves with what looks to be two leaves of wheat a the left.
untitled (man holding up cross to fend off a naked woman) Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a stylized color image of a man in a purple shirt holding up a cross with his right hand, warding off a naked young woman wearing a white veil. The man''s left hand leaves red scratches...	Luddites:69 Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has red and black text printed on yellow paper. At the top is "Luddites:69 / Our Leaders Tell Us We Must / Support Them In Their Passive / Struggle Against The Bosses. We..." in black...
Bosom Ballet 1987 Poster has a pink printed background. At the top is "Annie Sprinkle''s" in black followed by 18 black and white photos (two rows by nine columns) showing a female''s naked torso. The woman is...	35 1996 Poster printed on white paper. Down the right edge are color images of people from all over the world. At the top of the poster is "35", filled with more images of people. At the bottom of the...
Untitled Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster printed on white paper. At the top is a black and white image of a crowd gathered at the Berlin wall, with the sky tinted red in the background. At the bottom of the image is "Sooner Or...	Building Blocks for Quality Youth Sports 2004 Poster is printed on white paper. At the top is a green box with "Building Blocks / for Quality Youth Sports" in white. At the center is another green box with a green tinted image of kids playing...
Star Wars Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster printed on plastic or vinyl, showing an official Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace image, featuring the main characters, space crafts, light sabers and alien robots, all set on a star...	I'm Lost 1971 Poster has a stylized color image at the top showing a figure walking in the sand of a large desert. Below the figure is "I''m lost!" in white. At the bottom of the poster is an image of a black...
Announcing Phase 5 1973 Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a black and white photo of figures walking among rows of white tents. Across the bottom is "announing phase 5" in white with an "Economic Unstabilization...	Shopping for a Better World Late 20th Early 21st Century Top of poster has a stylized color image of a woman with green rings reaching up toward a red gemstone. To the bottom left of the woman is the silhouette of what appears to be a crocodile, filled...