GRAPHIC ADVOCACY

International Posters for the Digital Age, 2001-2012

March 27 – May 2, 2014
Opening reception Thursday, March 27, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Organized by Elizabeth Resnick and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design

Lecture by artist / illustrator Anita Kunz on Wednesday, April 9 at 6 p.m. in the Schick Art Gallery.

With topics ranging from environmental degradation to dirty politics to human rights, these posters by graphic artists from around the world are shrewd, visually compelling, and often witty in their illustration of complex contemporary issues.

 
Graphic Advocacy is curated by Elizabeth Resnick, Chair of Graphic Design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Posters are dissent made visible – they communicate, advocate, instruct, celebrate, and warn, while jarring us to action with bold messages and striking iconography. (Resnick.)
 
All the posters in the Schick Gallery are printed and framed, but many were designed to be viewed on websites and over mobile devices. The Internet has enabled designers to create and disseminate non-commissioned posters about current issues without worrying about labor and printing costs. Resnick noted this trend over the past decade, stating “in 2005, the notion of ‘the citizen designer’ was gaining momentum….” In 2011, following the outpouring of support by such ‘citizen designers’ for survivors of the Fukushima tsunami, she was motivated to create this exhibition.
 
The entire exhibition curated by Elizabeth resnick consists of 122 posters. With Resnick's permission, the Schick Art Gallery is presenting a selection of 60 of these, and Professor Deb Hall’s Communication Design students are participating in the editing process. Short statements written by forty Communication Design students in support of their selections are presented as part of the exhibition.

View images of the initial jurying process by Professor Deb Hall's Communication Design students, as well as the final exhibit installation, here.