Palestine Poster Project

The Palestine poster project documents the propaganda and creative dissent from 1965 to 2000 it is one of the largest libraries of its type. The role of the poster is one of the most important media types of 'dissent', over recent history, it has been the most popular form of publicising opinion and demonstrating change.

Jornada de Solidaridad, Faustino Perez, 1968.

The conflict in 1965 involved the extremist group known as Fatah, a militant group of Palestinian nationals. The poster attempts to stereotype this group with the usual wear of a Palestinian Nationalist, however clever use of replacing the eye with the barrel of a gun. The barrel is illustrated in red giving connotations of death and destruction. Day of solidarity to of Palestine is the title of the poster a UN day of remembrance for people who have died during the Palestine wars.

Visit Palestine, Franz Krausz, 1936.

Visit Palestine, Amer Shomali, 2009.

Visit Palestine, Des affiches pour Gaza, 2014.

David Tartakover's response reimagines the first poster that was initially used to generate more tourism in Palestine during the late 1930's. The poster reappropriates the landscape by adding militants, explosion clouds and the 'separation barrier'. What I would call a lighter-hearted attempt to generate a serious response by the viewer. I say 'light-hearted' due to the reappropriation of the initial poster, an area looking so positive becoming somewhere so contradictory. The poster is almost a crude representation of the conflict and the area.

Gaza Love, Kyle Goen, 2014.

A very well known symbol again reimaging a western icon. Initially titled 'love' to 'Gaza' this was made in the USA to generate a military response, it was used throughout many protests. Its iconic appearance makes it stronger as it alternates the familiar and therefore evokes a strong response.

Gaza Pinwheels, Mohammed Hassona, (Palestine), 2014.

Part of the Project Pinwheel memorial project the poster above attempts to raise awareness and remember the 521 children killed during the operation protective edge. The dark poster depicts the falling shells and the innocents of the children below that were lost in the conflict.


The 50-year difference between the first and last poster shows the prominence of the poster in Gaza, and the change it can promote. A very different selection of graphic art created to cause a change. However, with 50 years of conflict and 1,600 recorded posters does this show the little impact posters can make, the situation in Gaza is as volatile as ever and I wonder how many more posters it could take to make the constructive change needed to establish peace?

References

Visual Impact, Creative dissent in the 21st century, Liz McQuiston.

http://mondoweiss.net/2015/07/bombers-blood-posters/

https://im7mad.wordpress.com/

http://www.palestineposterproject.org/content/about-the-palestine-poster-project-archives-0

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20415675

https://www.afsc.org/resource/gaza-pinwheel-project

Craftivism and War

Craftivism is the concept of marrying craft and activism together usually referred to as a 'quiet' form of activism. Using textile, most often, to create political or social statements. Today I shall examine the role craftivism has in war and conflict.

During the first and second World Wars crafting was used in multiple ways. The first was as a therapeutic tool to calm soldiers with shell shock a form of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

During the second world, war activism established itself. Major Alexis Casdagli, was held in a Nazi prisoner of war camp, after six months he began to produce a cross stitch pattern on a piece of canvas. The dotted message around the edge border deciphers God Save the King and Fuck Hitler. This tapestry was then hung in the camp where he was imprisoned, the code was never deciphered. A quiet protest that only the prisoners would have understood, attempting to raise morale and keep pushing without getting themselves killed.

Major Alexis Casdagli, Cross Stitch on Canvas, 1941.

Contemporary craftivism contributions to anti-war protests depict very different scenes. Rugs created in Pakistan and Iraq have contained images from assault rifles to military drones. particularly Pakistan rugs had seen a large increase is drone patterns due to the on-going US military drone program.

"According to an October 2014 update from the UK-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in Pakistan by drone strikes over the past ten years, around one-fifth of them children."

Embroidered Rug, Artist Uknown, Location Uknown.

Embroidered Rug, Artist Uknown, Location Uknown.

Embroidered Rug, Artist Uknown, Location Uknown.

“One of the older local weavers, now in her 80s, told me that the reason for weaving drones on carpets by women here is to show to the West that their brutal killing machines are always under our feet" - https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-02-19/their-brutal-killing-machines-are-always-under-our-feet-pakistans-war-rug-weavers

The importance of the creation of these rugs, I believe, is the dominance of conflict in these peoples lives. This could be all they’ve ever known of their country, constant war, the quiet protest of creating these rugs are the way to publicise to the rest of the world. Although in recent history the creation of these rugs has been questioned with more and more copies of the rugs being made for sale in the US, prices range from hundreds of dollars to several thousand. Art collectors believe these rugs are being made to gain a profit and are growing into a tradeable commodity.

References

http://craftivism.com/blog/category/anti-war/

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/gallery/2015/feb/03/drones-ak-47s-and-grenades-afghan-war-rugs

https://www.warrug.com/

http://www.colorsmagazine.com/blog/article/drones-on-rugs

Sarajevo and The Trio Design Group

The graphic design group 'Trio' was founded in Bosnia's capital city Sarajevo in1985, producing work throughout Bosnia and the surrounding countries in a collaborative effort. The Trio group became an established design agency doing corporate work across Europe, as the Bosnia war broke out in 1992 the design group became trapped in Bosnia, within their personal practice they begun to campaign against the Seige of Sarajevo by the Serbian Military.

'War Studio' Photograph of The Trio, Bojan and Dalida Hadzihalilovic, Bosnia 1993. Scanned from Graphic Agitation, Liz McQuinston.

By using western cultural icons, the group reinterpreted adverts and symbols into ironic and dark humoured posters and postcards. The use of computers with very early versions of sketch and adobe photoshop enabled the manipulation of advertising campaigns and logos. A recurring theme throughout the work is the 1984 winter Olympics held in Sarajevo, referring ironically to the lack of international intervention and the need for dominance by the UN. Postcards were used because of the ease of transportation with the intention of sending them around the world to publicise the disaster. The works gained the Trio international recognition and became the face of the war. 

'Enjoy Sara-jevo' postcard, The Trio, during the Bosnia War 1993/94. Scanned from Graphic Agitation, Liz McQuinston.

Selection of postcards produced by The Trio, reworking cultural icons. Designed between 1993/94. Scanned from Graphic Agitation, Liz McQuinston.

Selection of postcards produced by The Trio, reworking cultural icons. Designed between 1993/94. Scanned from Graphic Agitation 2, Liz McQuinston.

Disunited Nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia 1993. Scanned from Graphic Agitation 2, Liz McQuinston.

Post Office, Trio, Bosnia 1993.

The relationship between graphic art and the political warfare in Sarajevo enabled the worldwide attention the war deserved. This evoked a greater, more appropriate, response from the United Nations in August 1995 as Nato launched airstrikes against the Serbian military. Graphic arts acted as the enabler, attempting to re-focus international intervention by using culturally relevant advertisements and specific western brands to stir a response from those in power.

The Trio group later developed in the internationally renowned design studio Fabrika working with some of the largest brands across the globe such as BMW and BIENNALE.

References

Graphic Agitation 2, Liz McQuinston, 2004.

http://bosniavolimte.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/trio-sarajevo-surrealism-art-at-its.html

http://www.fabrika.com/

https://backspace.com/notes/search.php?q=bosnia&n=0&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17617775

Iraq war - Blair & Bush

The Blair and Bush coalition was a relationship that took the UK to the Iraq war under questionable pretences, to which creative dissent thrived.

Following 9/11 in 2001 the US took military action in Afghanistan in October. September 2002, the UK publish a dossier on the threat that Iraq poses claiming that Sudam Hussain is in control of weapons of mass destruction that could be used within 45 minutes. Questions about the motive of the war around the oil reserves in Iraq continue to be a question to protesters in UK and US.

"Iraq remains a destabilising influence to... the flow of oil to international markets from the Middle East” - US Vice President Dick Cheney

Thousands marched in cities around the country, including New York City, to protest the war in Iraq, available. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/iraq-war-protest-gallery-1.18871

David Gentleman, an illustrator and artist who developed the campaign against the war, it became the iconic poster seen in protests throughout the UK. The posters (below), contain bold black typography and blood splatters against a stark white background. 

David Gentleman, DISSENT, March placard, Stop the War, 2003.

David Gentleman, DISSENT, March placard, Stop the War, 2003.

David Gentleman, DISSENT, March placard, Stop the War, 2006.

David Gentleman, DISSENT, March placard, Stop the War, 2006.

Below is an installation by Gentleman placed next to the Houses of Parliament in Parliment Square, it contains 1,000 paper cards with 100 splatters of blood on each to represent the 100,000 British lives lost in Iraq. A devesting statistic that is visually shown to show the scale of death. In my opinion, the blood splatters can represent a protest by those lost service men and women, questioning those in power on the legitimacy of the war.

David Gentleman, DISSENT, Installation in Parliament Square, Stop the War, 2008.

Gentleman's blood splatter visualises the death and destruction the war was doing especially bringing the bloodshed back to the UK. The UK's society were forced to question political connections to the war because if the use of poster and protest placards. They also protested against the coalition between Blair and Bush creating large-scale hysteria and anger by the public, this eventually lead to the iraq war inquiry.

References 

Visual Impact, Creative dissent in the 21st century, Liz McQuiston.

Graphic Agitation 2

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/iraq-war-protest-gallery-1.18871?pmSlide=1.18968

https://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2011/dec/13/stop-the-war-a-graphic-history-in-pictures

https://www.creativereview.co.uk/history-anti-war-protest/?nocache=true&login_errors%5B0%5D=invalidcombo&_lsnonce=e5cff56e51&rememberme=1

http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/Banksy/Banksy_Wrong_war_Bridge.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36702957

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2014/mar/20/iraq-war-oil-resources-energy-peak-scarcity-economy

Technology Challenging the Appearance of Dissent

Journalists and protestors have been recording their experience in rallies and protests since the invention of cameras. The development of camera phones and their widespread availability has meant this footage has become commonplace, with photographs and videos online and in the dominant media documenting peoples experiences. The quality of this footage is and its legitimacy is often questioned due to the off the cuff nature of the recording. Usually, the footage is filmed in a frantic crowd. According to Fred Dalmasso, this allows the dominant media outlets to manipulate the footage and to capture typical faces of dissent and aggression.

Below is an example of a 'typical' media response to a protester, the man is captured in the defiant action of throwing a smoke bomb, attempting to make the mob appearance more dangerous than the police.

Protesters and the police clashed Friday in Istanbul. Demonstrations began Tuesday over plans to redevelop a park in Taksim Square that is the last significant green space in the centre of the city. Credit-Bulent Kilic/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Here, however, is a photo that was featured in the same article, civilians running away tear gas surrounding them, a more empathetic response to the civilians.

Protesters waded through tear gas on Friday at Taksim Square in Istanbul. Credit Tolga Bozoglu/European Pressphoto Agency.

Hiwa K's work 'This Lemon Tastes of Apple' shows his perspective from the protests, tear gas surrounding him and members of his family. The title refers to the smell of the gas and how the locals use lemon juice to combat the effects. The video is very powerful, the pain of the protesters being swarmed by tear gas is shown effectively. In my opinion, this shows the danger of the police or the military and protests against they're harsh and dangerous actions. The video is part of an installation (shown below) the sound is very loud and immerses the viewer in the footage.

Hiwa K's. This Lemon Tastes of Apple. Installation. 2011.

Videos from the kettles are effective in showing the carnage and the intense feeling of danger, footage like this are now easily circled through social media channels this allows more freedom of speech. It also shows the acts of terror from the police or militia who are meant to be there to protect society.

To conclude, technology is changing the way people perceive protests personal approaches including mobile phone footage aids people in the kettle, giving them protection to a certain degree. However, media outlets will always be able to edit anything put in the public domain. The attitude of the dominant media outlets needs to change, people need to understand their agendas and political connections along with commercial gain.

References

Remote Spectating, Drone images and the Spectacular Image of revolt- Fred Dalmasso.

Art and Politics Now - Anthony Downey

https://www.artrabbit.com/events/hiwa-k-this-lemon-tastes-of-apple

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgmGxKvGFWU

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/world/europe/police-attack-protesters-in-istanbuls-taksim-square.html