Emory Douglas – Visualizing Revolution

Emory Douglas joined the Panther Party in 1967 and became its Minister of Culture. His confrontational graphics defined the party’s agenda and served as front and back covers for The Black Panther, the party’s official tabloid. Throughout the late sixties, tens of thousands of his posters were wheat-pasted on walls from California to New York. Douglas developed a crude and exaggerated cartoon style that excoriated and humiliated racist politicians, landlords, capitalists, and police, portraying them as de-humanized pigs. In fact his inflammatory graphics so popularized the epithet of “pig”, that the insult became a lasting part of the American lexicon.

via art for a change

Good time to take another look at Emory Douglas’s work as a graphic designer, illustrator, poster artist, political cartoonist, and master craftsman of the Black Panther Party’s visual message. In addition to designing and laying out the weekly Black Panther newspaper, he was its main artist. Douglas used a distinctive illustration style, cartooning skills, and resourceful collage and image recycling to make the paper as explosive visually as it was verbally. He was a one-man band, showing the same versatility with different visual styles and methods as a musician who can play several instruments as well as write the music.

via bad subjects

Conceptually, Douglas’s images served two purposes: first, illustrating conditions that made revolution seem necessary; and second, constructing a visual mythology of power for people who felt powerless and victimized.

via aiga

another gallery of Emory’s art

The Underground History of American Education

  `It’s important to underline that Bonhoeffer meant that literally, not metaphorically–schooling after the Prussian fashion removes the ability of the mind to think for itself. It teaches people to wait for a teacher to tell them what to do and if what they have done is good or bad. Prussian teaching paralyses the moral will as well as the intellect. It’s true that sometimes well-schooled students sound smart, because they memorize many opinions of great thinkers, but they actually are badly damaged because their own ability to think is left rudimentary and undeveloped.’

Teacher of the Year John Taylor Gatto 

Read the book

Spiderman and his amazing friends get real

hat tip Inside the Cosmic Cube

Artificial Evolution

Short films by Mark Osborne

More – The Academy-Award nominated animated short-film by Mark Osborne tells the story of a lonely inventor, whose colorless existence is brightened only by dreams of the carefree bliss of his youth.

By day, he is trapped in a dehumanizing job in a joyless world. But by night, he tinkers away on a visionary invention, desperate to translate his inspiration into something meaningful.

When his invention is complete, it will change the way people see the world. But he will find that success comes at a high price, as it changes himself, as well.

Greener – The trailer.

Happy Product