Political Posters
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.
1987
Poster has a stylized image showing a flatened world map with green continents and blue water. The continets are all attached to a tree trunk, serving as the leaves. At the base of the tree is a... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster has a yellow printed background with a blue and white statue at the left. Printed in a curve through the center is "30th Anniversary / Of Victory / Over Fascism" in red. At the bottom right... |
1973
Poster has a black printed background. Across the top is "Chili: soutenons la lutte / du peuple chilien" in white. At the center is a gray Chilean flag, torn at the edges, with bullet holes... |
1983
Poster shows two figures - the top blue and the bottom yellow and red - with horizontal lines down the length of the poster. At the top left is "!Somos hijos / de Sandino / y Bolivar!... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster has a light brown printed background with color photos of women from various countries scattered about. At the bottom left is "progress / for women / is progress / for all" in black. At the... |
1989
Poster has a gray printed background with purple Cyrillic text at the center. Across the top and at the bottom center are five color images showing nature scenes with forests, mountains, snow and... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster has a color photo showing a mountain view with trees, flowers and snow in the background. Across the bottom is "Parque Nacional / Izta-Popo" in white. |
1983
Poster has brown text and images printed on a beige background. At the top is a sketch of a deer. To the bottom right of the image is "venado cola blanca". At the bottom of the poster is "Mexico... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster has two long, thin photos showing a flowery meadow and trees at the left and a statue at the right. Across the bottom is "Parque Nacional / Tula / Sistema Nacional De Areas Naturales... |
1997
Poster has a red background. At the top is a blue rectangle with a flame and wreath at the bottom and a cloud floating over the top. At the bottom of the poster is "all human rights for all /... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster shows a sunset with birds flying in the darkening blue sky and others perched on branches sticking up from the bottom of the poster. Across the bottom edge is "Reserva Ecologica / Isla... |
1995
Poster has a red background. Across the top is "1993-2003" in a brighter red followed by two yellow/green and green/blue theater masks. Vertically up the bottom of the poster is "Racism" in... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster has black and re dink printed on a light brown background. At the top is "We The Peoples Of / The United Nations" with the UN logo. The rest of the text is divided into three sections of... |
1970
Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a blue background with a stylized image of a girl and boy running beneath a UN globe with swirls of color around it. Across the top is "Youth For Peace"... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster has a blue background with "Human / Rights / Are / For / Everyone" down the length of the poster in white. Over the background is black text. At the top is "A Comparison Of... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster has white unprinted edges enclosing a purple background with a black and white image of the profile of a man pointing at the bill of his hat. Behind the man, two Cuban flags wave in the... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
Poster has a stylized image of the profile of a man with a brwon beard wearing a green shirt on a red background. At the top right is "Con Conciencia / Con Verguenza / 10 Milliones" in beige. |
1984
Poster has a yellow printed background with a black and white illustration of the Statue of Liberty using two missiles with dollar signs on them as crutches. At the top right is black Cyrillic... |
1977
Poster has a stylized image of a skull with orange clown lips, a big bow tie and a hat that looks like the tip of a bullet with a red biohazard sign on it. At the bottom of the poster is "Non / A... |
1984
Poster has a black and white background image of a crowd holding signs. At the top of the poster is a blue and white UN logo with Cyrillic text circling around it and three stick figures - brown,... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
This poster has an array of flags from a variety of nations set against a black background. The head and outstretched arm of the Statue of Liberty are visible in the left side of the poster. "... |
c.1997
This poster has a brown and orange background and a blue rectangle with a white cloud across it in the top half of the page. There is a flame symbol below the cloud. Orange and white text below... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
This horizontally-oriented poster features large, yellow and white text reading "We the peoples" across the center. "We the people of the United Nations" is at the top of the page. There are 3... |
Late 20th Early 21st Century
This light blue poster with dark blue text is the "Universal Declaration / Of Human Rights" from the "United Nations". There are 3 columns of small text listing points 1 through 30. Text below the... |