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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Wallflower Order David Fichter, Red Sun Press Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a multicolor graphic of a group of men and women dancing and playing instruments in a mountain landscape. Three figures at the front of the group play a guitar, recorder, and panpipes...	Wallflower Order Presents David Fichter Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a multicolor, stylized image of four figures in feathery skirts dancing on a rooftop with a cityscape in the background. At the top of the poster is "Wallflower Order Presents" in...
Wallflower Order Craig La Follette 1979 Poster printed on beige paper. At the top is a stylized image of a black semi-circle, filled with red and yellow flowers with green stems, which also grow to the left and right up to the top of...	Max Your Bene-Fashion-Fit Factor Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has green ink printed on white paper. Arched at the top is "max your Bene-Fashion-Fit factor / An Anti-Fashion Show Extravaganza Featuring The Designs Of Jenny Jensen". At the center is a...
untitled (Korean Mask Dance) 1985 Poster has black ink printed on white paper. At the top is a stylized image of a carved mask. Below the image and down the left side is Korean text, with an English translation below. The text is...	Latin American Holiday Crafts Fair Inkworks Press, printer 1990 Poster has a red printed background with white text and a central stylized image of a figure standing in a dotted circle, with a series of symbols on a circle over the figure''s torso. At the top...
Untitled Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has purple ink printed on pink paper. The background is a stylized image if four figures dancing, as seen from a porch. At the top of the poster is "Westwind / international folk ensemble...	The Dance Theater of Om Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on cream colored paper. At the top is "The / Dance Theater / Of Om" followed by a stylized image of a topless woman holding an instrument. Text on the bottom of the...
Oppression: A Dance-Comedy Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on white paper. At the top is "Feet First presents / the second in the Human Nature series" with a stylized image of a crow. Beneath the text is a stylized...	Independent Choreographers Network Debut Benefit Performance Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has red ink printed on a pink background with stylized images of female figures dancing. Text, starting at the top right, reads "independent / choreographers / network / debut benefit...
Anarchist Community Coffehouse 1988 Poster has black ink printed on red paper. At the top is "Anarchist / Community / Coffeehouse" followed by a stylized image of a rose. At the bottom of the poster are the details for the June 18,...	Infoshop Benefit Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on white paper and shows a figure at the bottom left blowing smoke out of his mouth, forming a huge cloud at the top of the poster. In the cloud is "infoshop / benefit...
924 Gilman Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has a black and white background pgoto of a crowd of people gathered together. White text at the top left reads "924 Gilman / five years in the making, 924 Gilman is the story of / the USA...	Anniversary Folk Concert Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on green paper. At the top are three photos of people, with names below: Mary Schmary, Stuart and Rooney, and Country Joe McDonald. The rest of the poster is text,...
Starry Plough Pub 1993 Poster has red and green ink printed on white paper, with a graphic border in a Celtic design. At the top is "20th anniversary / celebration for the / Starry / Plough / Pub". At the center is a...	Purple Onion Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has tan unprinted edges enclosing a purple background with white and black text and a stylized black image of an onion at the left. Text reads "purple onion / 140 columbus / san francisco...
Starry Plough Pub 1993 Poster has blue/gray ink printed on white paper, with a graphic border in a Celtic design. At the top is "20th anniversary / celebration for the / Starry / Plough / Pub". At the center is a...	Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival 2005 Poster has a multicolor background image of a green building with "eastside community cultural center" across the top. In the blue sky above the building is an image of a man playing a saxophone....
Free Mind Media Community Space Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster has black ink printed on white paper. At the top is "tired of the brainwash?" with a stylized image of a book being thrown into a television. Below the image is "then get a little dirty /...	Epic West Cajun Dance Benefit 1976 Poster has black and orange/red text printed on white paper reading "Epic West Cajun / Dance Benefit / With The Louisiana / Playboys / Les Blank''s Films / Sunday, 2 May 1976 / 7pm-Midnight / 2640...
Blithe Spirits Late 20th Early 21st Century Poster printed on beige paper. At the top is "Blithe Spirits" in blue and a blue, green, orange, red and yellow image of a butterfly. At the bottom of the poster is "a 3-day celebration for the /...	East Bay Bazaar Inkworks Press, printer Late 20th Early 21st Century Background of poster has a photograph of two female hands decorated in henna tattoos holding a small box giftwrapped with gold colored paper and red ribbon, against a black backdrop. The top edge...
Berkeley Bazaar Inkworks Press, printer Late 20th Early 21st Century Background of poster has a photograph of various wooden dolls and carved and painted wooden figures against a blue and white, cloudy sky, the dolls and figures include, and elephant, a giraffe,...	La Pena Inkworks Press, printer 1978 Poster has black ink printed on green paper. At the top is "La Pena / tercer aniversario / 2-3-4 de Junio, 1978 / a celebration of our buying the building". The rest of the poster has the schedule...