The Art of Protest

by Joanne Rippon, Anish Kapoor

In association with Amnesty International, with a foreword by Anish Kapoor.
Against an increasingly polarizing political backdrop, The Art of Protest takes a visual journey through social protest over the last 100 years. From the early 20th Century suffragette movement through to the 60s and 70s considered by many the heyday of social protest - to contemporary, social media-driven demonstrations of dissent, such as the Arab Spring uprisings and #BlackLivesMatter, The Art of Protest examines some of the world's most iconic posters and banner art.
Collated thematically, this extensive collection features more than 100 posters reporting on revolutionary events such as the civil rights marches in 50s America, the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany, and the global outcry against the Iraq war the largest protest event in human history and covers key campaigns such as women's liberation, nuclear disarmament, human rights, student and youth rebellion and the world-wide rally against capitalism.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Politics, History

176 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2019

Reviews

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book - it's limited to only 140ish different posters/campaigns, but it's a great overview of protest art internationally across the last couple of centuries and subjects spanning human rights, feminism, war and peace, the civil rights movement, homophobia and transphobia, workers rights, immigration and asylum, the arms trade, colonialism, apartheid, black lives matter, environmentalism, and more.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and beautiful collection of protest posters over time. I enjoyed looking at the artwork, and seeing how graphic design choices can make a statement even more powerful.

[Courtney O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Approached this book with the intention of flipping through to find inspiration for protest embroidery designs. Scrapped that plan upon realising how intelligent the art interpretations are, how moving the chosen quotations could be, and how richly, politically informative the entire book is.

[Kit Lascher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone interested in the history of social movements and change. This book gave me so much hope and context. The one drawback is that there are some horrifying images with not a lot of editorial commentary challenging, but I do think it's important that we recognize how many movements (eg: women's suffrage) are riddled with issues. Some of these images are hard to look at and that is exactly why they should be compiled and published. I like to take pictures of images in art books and it was hard not to photograph the entire book!

[Diogenes Grief · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nabbed this at the Seattle Art Museum because it’s the perfect blend of art and politics that suits my soul. No MAGA, great-replacement, Q-Anon, Stop the Steal bs here. Real-world issues like environmental devastation, apartheid near and far, anti-capitalism, anti-racism and the advocacy for true equality, anti-war, anti-fascism. You get the idea. A great coffee-table book for those who still have coffee tables (or books).

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes a successful protest poster? What combination of images and text cause viewers to consider an issue? From the examples in this book, it would seem that simpler images fare better, since they must be seen and understood in a matter of seconds. High-contrast images are the easiest to see and the most eye catching, but there’s lots of flexibility when it comes to style and execution. In terms of text, simplicity is also key, but so is nuance and depth. Crafting a slogan that makes an impactful statement in as few words as possible is tricky thing. The art of protest is a balancing act.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of cool and powerful imagery in this book with posters for all every cause. I loved going through them all and learning a little history at the same time. A really good read!