As my research continues, I have found that the world of political posters spans across many of the various sub-sects of the art world. From rock posters to graffiti, political prints have a privileged position in the art world because of their engagement with socio-political issues through the use of intriguing aesthetics. 

Sure, there are many political posters that will catch your eye with a trendy slogan, or a militant proclamation, but the tendency of people who I have interviewed thus far, generally had something to say about the notion of “beauty” that allured them to the print.

The above two images were taken at the Firehouse print shop in West Oakland. 

Firehouse Kustom Rockart Co. is run by Ron Donovan and Chuck Sperry. The core of their work is printing rock posters, though many film posters and political posters are printed out of their shop, including prints by Emory Douglas and Political Gridlock (see third image above “Malcolm X” Emory 2009 [http://station4.co.uk/gallery/art/emory-douglas/]).

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Last week one of my primary subjects, Jon-Paul Bail, participated in a demonstration at the Oakland Museum (http://museumca.org/calendar/omca-screen-printing-demonstrations-jon-paul-bail-and-doug-minkler) for the current exhibition All Of Us Or None (http://museumca.org/exhibit/all-us-or-none-social-justice-posters-san-francisco-bay-area). The exhibition is a showcase of Bay Area political posters over the past 60 years. The demonstration is part of a series of artists included in the show and consists of them screen printing their posters in a makeshift studio in the gallery and giving them away for free.