How Posters Helped Shape America and Change the World
One enthusiast's collection, on exhibit at the Oakland Museum of California, offers a sweeping look at grass-roots movements since the 1960s
- By Jeff Greenwald
- Smithsonian.com, May 23, 2012
(Frank Rowe, Democratize Yellow Cab, Circa 1953. Collection of the Oakland Museum of California, All Of Us Or None Archive. Fractional and promised gift of The Rossman Family)
“Between 1932 and 1945,” says All of Us or None curator Lincoln Cushing, “posters were a lively part of the American vernacular.” Thousands were produced under the Federal Art Project, mainly to support the arts, national parks and sciences; many were created to support the war effort. Between 1945 and 1965, however, the fever pitch of McCarthyism and the prying reach of the FBI stifled this form of free speech. One striking exception was this 1953 anti-discrimination poster by Frank Rowe. Rowe, an art teacher and World War II veteran, lost his job in 1950 for refusing to sign a loyalty oath when applying for a job at San Francisco State College. Blacklisted from teaching for 19 years, he turned his graphics skills to the social justice movement. This watershed poster expresses outrage at the fact that—even in a “progressive” city like San Francisco—African-Americans were not allowed to drive Yellow Cab taxis.
Comments (4)
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT All of the posters included are (at least were in their own day) clearly expressive of left-of-center views. Discuss.
Posted by Berel Dov Lerner on February 24,2013 | 02:49 AM
Stanley is a very talented guy. His dad worked in the Disney studios. I had never seen this one before. Great image.
Posted by Mary Miller on December 6,2012 | 10:08 AM
I love seeing all these posters. very inspiring and memory-provoking. just one small "correction" for Cushing ---- Martin Luther King came out against the war in Vietnam in April 1967, during major anti-war protests in NYC and SF. Still, cushing's point is well-taken ---- it took a few years for opposition to the war to build up....and it took a few years for civil rights leaders to link their own cause with the anti-war movement.
Posted by bill cohen on May 30,2012 | 09:26 AM
This is a terrific exhibit about a very interesting time - well worth seeing if you're in the Bay Area, along with the companion 1968 exhibit. Many of the artists in the poster exhibit choose to produce their work anonymously, and unfortunately this allowed interlopers to insert themselves into the history of at least one of the groups, claiming the legacy of others. Sad, but this doesn't take away from the significance of the work displayed in the exhibit.
Posted by Peggy White on May 25,2012 | 04:15 PM