Graphic Agitation: Social and Political Graphics Since the Sixties [Hardcover]

Liz McQuiston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1993

From the revolutionary Sixties to the present day, this book explores the many ways graphic art and design have addressed social and political issues. The book covers a broad range of subject areas including war, peace, national politics, ecology, health, civil rights and sexual politics. It features the work of some of the world's best known personalities and studios, such as Grapus in France, Klaus Staeck in Germany, Seymour Chwast in the USA and Wild Plakken in Holland, as well as the powerful graphics of anonymous protest. Images of anger and emotion, humour and satire appear throughout, as symbols of power, peace and persuasion. In addition to their striking visual impact, this collection of images and memorabilia presents a powerful reflection of the social concerns and political struggles of our age.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The global use of graphics for propaganda and protest is surveyed in this vibrant album. The 300 color photographs reproducing posters, billboards, ads, T-shirts and graffiti occasionally portray the graphic voice of the establishment (e.g., U.S. presidential campaign paraphernalia) but mostly feature dissent and agitation on behalf of human rights, environmentalism, anti-war and anti-nuclear protest, feminism, sexual politics, gay rights, AIDS awareness, the struggle for racial equality, the end to apartheid and poverty and drug abuse and homelessness. McQuiston, an American graphic designer based in Britain, sets works by Jenny Holzer, Keith Haring, Tomi Ungerer and Roy Lichtenstein alongside graphics by less well-known artists from Czechoslovakia to Malaysia. The book is an enlightening, kinetic social history of political graphics and a rich resource for artists, designers and activists.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Both these books could be described as samplers offering some fine examples of the aesthetics of recent graphic art. At that point the similarity ends. Poynor's book opens with a too-brief, name-dropping introduction in which he attempts to justify his selections, situate the pieces in an aesthetic context, and trace the recent history of design. The founding editor of Eye and author of Typography Now (North Light Bks., 1993), Poyner fills the following 200 pages with full-color reproductions, identified simply by title, purpose, designers, and design firm. His selections are drawn strictly from this decade, mostly from the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands, and broadly from the fields of advertising, magazine layout, book/cd jacket design, and fine arts promotion. For its wealth of examples of very recent and sometimes obscure work, The Graphic Edge is recommended for academic libraries serving fine arts programs. McQuiston (graphic art and design, Royal Coll. of Art, London), on the other hand, is concerned equally with content and style. Offering neither historical nor aesthetic continuity, her book instead builds on broad areas of politics and activism, ranging from "National Politics: Politcal Parties, Governments and Leaders" to "Saving the Earth: Ecology and the Green Movement." This lack of strict organization requires a careful, cover-to-cover reading in order to understand the web of influences on and trajectories taken by graphics in the service of politics over the last 30 years. Happily, McQuiston's lucid and fact-filled prose and the accompanying 300 color illustrations make this task a pleasure. Recommended for larger contemporary art collections as well as large academic political science collections.
Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (October 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714828785
• ISBN-13: 978-0714828787
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 10.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,707,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expansive and Engrossing!, February 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Graphic Agitation (Paperback)

Liz McQuiston takes on the world! She gives an excellent overview of protest graphics from every continent (even Antarctica!) and from a very diverse range of debates: democracy movements, debates over reproductive rights, the environment, counter culture, civil rights, AIDS and health awareness and feminism, among many others.

The book is very well designed and will bring back memories. Lots of great colour reproductions and a nice size and paper weight make it an aesthetic treat. It is also a valuable sourcebook for studies in visual culture. Check out the screaming red cover!