Power to Poster

Posters can be powerful vehicles for social change. Publishing a poster means to target an audience. Different categories of people are part of this audience : people who agree with the poster's message, but also people who are undecided or people who are willing to rethink their positions. In any cases, posters educate about an issue. It can also inspire people to action. People may agree with a poster's position without acting on it, and posters can encourage their involvement. They also let viewers know that others share their position. The intricacy to reach a very broad audience makes the making of a poster a very subtile exercise between communication and graphic design. Whether they were created by well-known artists, like Robert Rauschenberg or Sister Corita Kent, or by others who were associated with grass-roots groups like the Gay Liberation Front or Another Mother for Peace, the posters offer an outlook on emerging political identities : including feminism, the " Black is Beautiful " movement, the American Indian movement, gay rights or the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. What about today ? Women's, gays', international human rights even animals or plants' rights are still consistent theme.