Peace Press Graphics 1967-1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change


September 10 – December 11, 2011

The UAM, in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG), will mount Peace Press Graphics 1967–1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change, a survey of the press’ work and their connections to artist collectives of the time.

Founded in 1967 by a unique group of L.A. activist-artists who created an “alternate everything” printing and publishing business, the Peace Press (1967-1987) emerged from the tangle of progressive political and alternative groups that flourished during the decades between 1960 and 1990. The poster archive, now housed at the CSPG in Los Angeles, exemplifies an important element of visual and cultural history: art that reflects the desire and intention to create social and political change, as well as artists who attempt to affect change through both their work and their actions.

The exhibition is co-curated by UAM Associate Director Ilee Kaplan and Executive Director of the CSPG Carol Wells, and will feature over 100 posters from the press’ archive and private collections. The posters address issues such as feminism, workers’ rights, civil liberties, anti-nuclear protests, environmental concerns, and anti-war demonstrations by artists who worked with the press, including Robert Crumb, Rupert Garcia, Harry Fonseca, Sheila Levrant de Brettville, and Skip Williamson. In addition, a historical timeline, poetry and spoken word performances, film clips interspersed in the galleries, and a separate film screening series will accompany the artworks to offer audiences a unique opportunity to understand the art of political protest within its larger cultural milieu.

Related Educational Programming:

UAM@noon
Gallery Walkthrough
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
University Art Museum
12:15-1:00pm

Organizing the Ideal: Contemporary Collectives & Cooperatives
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
University Art Museum
3:00-5:00pm

Crisis in California Higher Education: The Struggle to Maintain Access and Equity
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Beach Auditorium
4:00-6:00pm

Education and Social Transformation in South Africa
Thursday, October 27, 2011
University Art Museum
7:00-9:00pm

Forging New Tomorrows: Political Change in the United States
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Beach Auditorium
2:00-7:00pm

More information on upcoming events here.

Press Release - Pacific Standard Time Grantee Announcement
Press Release - Peace Press Graphics 1967-1987: Art in the Pursuit of Social Change

The Getty Foundation in Los Angeles has awarded grants to the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Museum of Latin American Art, and the University Art Museum at CSULB as part of its regional initiative, Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, the largest collaborative art project ever undertaken in Southern California. Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented collaboration of more than fifty cultural institutions across Southern California, which are coming together to tell the story of the birth of the L.A. art scene. Initiated through grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time will take place for six months beginning October 2011.