Molly Crabapple's Shell Game "Illustrates Occupy and the Revolutions of 2011" [more inside]
posted by the man of twists and turns on Apr 9, 2013 - 11 comments

Last year, The Cooper Union For The Advancement Of Science And Art publicly admitted it was in dire financial straits and raised the idea of charging tuition for the first time in 110 years. The students responded in an appropriate manner. But now as the specter of tuition becomes closer to reality the students took a more drastic option: Since Monday, eleven undergraduate students have expertly barricaded themselves inside the top floor of the New York college. They talk about what they want. They even get pizza. [more inside]
posted by The Whelk on Dec 7, 2012 - 68 comments

While he was contributing to the New Yorker as Syd Hoff, he was also contributing to the Daily Worker and New Masses as A. Redfield — the pseudonym he adopted for his radical work, The Ruling Clawss (Daily Worker, 1935) a collection of surprisingly relevant cartoons.
posted by The Whelk on Oct 29, 2011 - 21 comments

Sue Coe, one of the most committed activist artists in America, has during her thirty-five-year career charted an idiosyncratic course through an environment that is at best ambivalent toward art with overt socio-political content.
posted by Trurl on Sep 1, 2011 - 27 comments

The Crab Party that got China's most famous artist arrested. [more inside]
posted by Heliochrome85 on Nov 9, 2010 - 50 comments

Chris Ware was commissioned by Fortune to illustrate their May cover. His "hilarious, beautiful, meticulous" submission, which included "Guantanamo Bay prisoners, Mexican factory workers, and a few potshots at business execs and money-grubbing politicians," was rejected. Hi-res Flickr version here. Previously (1, 2)
posted by infinitefloatingbrains on Apr 24, 2010 - 77 comments

Mark Wallinger has won the Turner Prize for 'State Britain' his recreation of Brian Haw's Parliament Square peace protest. [more inside]
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 5, 2007 - 12 comments

Art Crimes is a fascinating site about the history of vandalism in the fine arts, recently revived by a Frenchwoman who left a lipstick imprint on a 2 million dollar painting by Cy Twombly. Other examples include a British suffragist attacking a Velazquez with a knife, an installation vandalized by the Israeli ambassador to Sweden, two Chinese performance artists who urinated into Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, and a Canadian art student who vomited blue gelatin on a Mondrian. Oddly enough, the artwork that has weathered the most attacks is Rembrandt's The Night Watch, which has survived two knife attacks (one by an unemployed teacher with a butter knife) and an attack by a mental patient who had a compulsion to fling sulfuric acid at fine artworks. Other art vandalism methods, including glass cutters, hammers, scissors, guns, and ink, are discussed here.
posted by jonp72 on Jul 26, 2007 - 38 comments

In Memoriam and in Protest --why not use an online deathmatch as a pedestal for speaking out against a war? Artist/Professor uses US Govt-developed America's Army (...placing Soldiering front and center within popular culture and showcasing the roles training, teamwork and technology play in the Army. ... ) as protest and art space. DeLappe's homepage (and jpgs) here
posted by amberglow on May 30, 2006 - 135 comments

A Brief History Of The Clenched Fist. With illustrations.
posted by jack_mo on May 3, 2006 - 18 comments

Icaro Doria is a Brazilian artist who uses flags to make a point.
posted by mcsweetie on May 13, 2005 - 36 comments

Best. Protest. Ever. If you read the story last week about an artist in Bayreuth, Germany who's been sticking little American flags into piles of dog crap, here [via jwz via bb] is what looks like that artist's official site.
posted by mediareport on Jan 24, 2005 - 80 comments

At first glance it would seem to be something one would find in some photoshop gallery. But then one finds out that she has been forced to justify her work, for they are pictures of freshly killed animals. Much to the dislike of some craigslistians. With the growing uproar, there is even a petition going around (though petitions like that are hardly rare.) Is this a work of someone seeking attention through offending people? Or someone unable to use photoshop? Whatever the case, I’m sure PETA will join in. . . . Wait, it has.
posted by TwelveTwo on Jan 10, 2005 - 90 comments

Israeli ambassador to Sweeden vandalises artwork. This is front page stuff in my part of the world and I truly hope, but doubt, that he will find himself out of work tomorrow. The question is: what was he thinking? Was it intentional? Could he have chosen to interpret the upsetting work of art in another less disturbing way?
posted by FidelDonson on Jan 17, 2004 - 94 comments

How to make a protest sign
This past weekend thousands of Americans took to the street to protest or support the war - many with protest posters. Making a protest poster isn't that difficult but the web makes it even easier with sites on the web that offer protest posters for every angle on the issue. Another Poster for Peace has a collection of posters from some of the top names in graphic design available royality free. Insta-protest offers a collection of 80 posters printable on your laser or inkjet printer from their Flash interface. Mike Flugennock has cartoon posters critical of the war and a number of other topics. The Propaganda Remix Project has been mentioned here before for their WWII remixed posters. Finally Anti-War offers a gallery of posters in color and black and white.
For those of us who are supporting the President in this war you might want to print out one of these. There's got to be others in support of the war - but where are they?
Designing protest posters can also be part of your high school history class with this Art as Political Protest lesson plan. So, what sign are you?
posted by DragonBoy on Mar 24, 2003 - 10 comments