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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Mt. Tamalpais: The Sleeping Lady Jason Strahm, printer, Jim LeCuyer, writer, Kathleen Lipinski, artist, Kim Collet, artist 1988 Poster reproducing a serigraph titled "Mt. Tamalpais: The Sleeping Lady" by Kathleen Lipinkski. Image is low mountains and a lake with marshy area in foreground, done in grays and pinks. Thin...	Nicaragua Tagesanbruch El Salvador 1984 Poster for an art exhibition in Berlin, Germany. Poster is black with white text. Image at top left is a woman and child sitting in front of a basket lined with newspapers, filled with bread. At...
Opening An Outsider Door 1994 Poster for an art exhibition at Creative Growth Gallery in Oakland, California, of Russian outsider artists. Poster has a painting with a man with a large right ear, Russian buildings in the...	Monetarism Louise Kollenbaum, designer, Sue Coe, artist 1987 Poster for a Sue Coe exhibition titled "Monetarism" at Gallery Paule Anglim in 1987. Poster has a painting with a red bulls-eye at bottom right, a shark at top left, a figure at bottom left with a...
Keith Haring in the Pop Shop Tseng Kwong Chi, photographer Circa 1987 Poster with a photograph of artist Keith Haring sitting in an open wall space, surrounded by black painted lines of his figures on white walls. Left edge of front side has a red border with text....	Untitled David Cunningham, designer, Penelope Rosemont, artist Circa 2000 Poster advertising a book titled "Surrealist Subversions: Rants, Writings & Images by the Surrealist Movement in the United States." Poster has a black text and a photograph of a collage from...
Art From Jail Enrique Chagoya, artist, Mission Grafica, printer 1986 Exhibition poster for a 1986 art exhibition titled "Art from Jail." Poster has illustration of a red rose on view through a window of a rectangular structure. Top left edge of poster has been cut...	Response 1983 Poster for an art exhibition titled "Response" held in 1983 in Mill Valley, California. Poster is gray with white and red text and a black, white and gray illustration across the top half....
The Blimp Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster with purple text and illustrations on pink paper. Front has an illustration of a female (justice) who is blindfolded, holding scales in one hand, and strapped to a chair. Above is text...	October 77 Community Calendar Inkworks Press, printer 1977 Poster with political and cultural events for October 1977 in the East Bay. Produced by Inkworks Press. Front has a gray and red illustration with four blindfolding figures and text reading "Bakke...
Untitled 1968 Poster containing Guerrilla Free Newspaper of the Streets, Volume Two, Number 4. Black text on a white background on front and verso.	Revolution 1968 Poster with black text on white background containing Guerrilla, the Free Newspaper of the Streets, Volume Two, Number 3. Front is a political poster for Eldridge Cleaver for president. Verso...
Untitled 1968 Poster with black text on a white background, containing Guerrilla, the Free Newspaper of the Streets, Volume Two, Number 2. Headline text across top half, and smaller text in four columns on...	Night Poetry in North Beach 1993 Poster advertising a poetry reading and open microphone evening at Caffee Verdi in San Francisco. Poster is white with black text and top and bottom and an illustration of Giuseppe Verdi in brick...
Poets and Painters Maura Frias, designer, Mission Grafica, printer 1989 Poster advertising an art exhibition in 1989 at Laguna Honda Hospital. Poster has an illustration of three red flowers with two large purple and red butterflies. The background is yellow.	You've Got Mail Circa 1998 Poster advertising the Warner Bros. movie "You''ve Got Mail." Image is a photograph of Tom Hanks on the left and Meg Ryan on the right with a green background.
A Wild and Crazy Fall 1987 Mission Grafica, printer 1987 Poster advertising a series of video screenings and art lectures at San Francisco State University. Poster has an illustration of many bodies in a tree and falling out of the tree. Figures are...	"The Daily News" in Paintings By Peter Schuman Circa 1985 Poster advertising an exhibit of "The Daily News" paintings at the Mission Cultural Center in San Francico. The poster has a black background, white border, and a circular image at...
The Captive Minds Series Doug Minkler, artist 1985 Poster advertising a series of talks in Berkeley, California, titled "The Captive Minds Series." The poster is white with a color print at top by artist Doug Minkler. Below is text in black with...	Captive Minds: a class and public seminar on the politics of art Doug Minkler, artist 1987 Poster advertising a series of talks in San Francisco, California, titled "Captive Minds." The poster is white with a color print at top by artist Doug Minkler. Below is text in blue with...
Calvin Simmons Ancient Hip Hop Symphony Inkworks Press, printer, Rik Clingerman, photographer Circa 1997 Poster supporting the East Bay Institute for Urban Arts, with a large color photograph of a mural on the side of Calvin Simmons Middle School in Oakland, California. The mural includes images of...	Poetry in action Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster advertizing a poetry writing contest for Poetry in Action. Poster has a black and white photograph of a factory with smokestacks and several people superimposed in front of the image. Text...
Poetry in Motion Burning Hand Graphics, designer, David Baal, designer, David Bacon, photographer Late 20th Early 21st Century New York City subway poster that is part of the Poetry in Motion series. Poster has details of subway wall tiles acorss the top, with "Poetry in Motion" written out in white tiles within blue...	2 PEOPLE Personas IN en L.A. Sandra Golvin, artist 1990 Poster titled "2 PEOPLE Personas IN en L.A." in a banner across the top, helpd up by angels. Text in English in purple, followed by text in Spanish in blue.