Print and Protest

Print media has a history of changing the way that people think. From the wheat-pasted posters scattered along city streets to print media in museums, street art has a way of catching your eye. Print media has influenced U.S. social justice struggles, such as fighting for rights and equality for LGBTQ+ folks and people of color.

Starting in the 1910's, wheat pasting became a popular platform for public dialogue. The rise of wheat pasting, an inexpensive and efficient way of exhibiting print, led to an abundance of print media. Typically, voiceless people began using vacant spaces, including telephone poles and abandoned buildings, as a microphone for their political and social declarations. Wheat pasting lies in a gray area of the law, making it vaguely illegal, ideal for artists trying to evade attention. This is now a common practice. You can find wheat pasting everywhere; it is so effective that companies often use it for advertising. 

The use of symbols is what makes print so iconic and recognizable. Artists would use emblems, including the iconic Black Panther for the Black Panther Party, to support causes and spread awareness. While art styles can vary, one thing stays the same: iconography. Artists can employ symbols to share a message without using too many words. The aesthetic of pop art played an extensive role in print as well. Artists such as Andy Warhol popularized the method of screen printing, a more simplistic way of printing. He played with the concept of appropriation of images and used repetition to create dramatism. This impacted the print community significantly.  

Not only was print used for spreading ideas, but it was anonymous. Black and LGBTQ+ artists could remain unidentified during this pre-internet era to elude the violent hate crimes of the time. The notion of anonymity also added to the artwork in a way not often seen in the art world. There is seemingly no artist behind the work presented because most protest pieces do not belong to one artist, but many. 

Print introduced something somewhat new to contemporary art: collaboration. Print pieces are labor heavy; printing hundreds of posters can take days alone and often have complex layers of color that need to align perfectly. Print communities attested to the enduring power of printmaking to promote collaboration and initiate dialogue around political and social issues. Print collaboratives built inclusive communities where LGBTQ+ and black creators could express anger, share trauma, and create art. JustSeeds is a contemporary print collaborative that platforms and provides a place for artists to share their stories. Fortunately, print artists today have the ability to express their ideas and create with more resources. 

Print Media is the art of the people; it can spread concepts and promote ideas by people who are otherwise voiceless. Throughout history, this art medium has created a platform for people to share ideas, beliefs and find community. 

References

Widewalls Editorial. “Screen Printing - the Complete Story.” Screen Printing - The Complete Story, Widewalls, 4 Sept. 2016, https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/screen-printing-silksreen-prints. 

“Printmaking Techniques, History, Printmakers.” Printmaking: Techniques, History, Printmakers, Visual-Arts-Cork.com, 2019, http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/printmaking.htm.