pttp: one year of graphic activism
this project has brought together 66 designers and activists from around the world on a platform of graphic engagement. we wanted to know, as global citizens, what moves us? what is the “what next?” just where the hell are we going in these crazy, historic times? with 145 posters addressing a large breath of issues, this site has become an impressive collection of what graphic activism can be in our media age.
in early 2008, things seemed bleak. there where times when all hoped seemed like it was being stamped out by a black, steel-toed boot. as time went on, there was almost a sense that “downhill fast” was the only way we’d be going any time soon. food riots, continued mideast violence, midwest floods, rising gas prices, rapidly melting ice sheets, the spectacle of freaky republicans drumming up fear at election time, socialism/red marxism warnings via big media, topped all off, by the collapse of global capitalism.
yes, collapse.
and now, with the most exciting, hopeful election result in decades, amidst all the turmoil, the bailouts, two wars, ecological disaster, pandemic flu, the same atrocious schools, the same ruthless health care system and the same dishonest reasons for not doing anything constructive, it does seem like we have a chance. we do, on some basic level, seem like we can move in the right direction. we have shaped up, now we can fly right.
we have reason to give thanks. because the idea of “make this better” has real possibility of truly bearing fruit.
at this moment, all across this country, across the world, we are pulling back the curtain. we are looking in the mirror. honestly reflecting on where we’ve been, what we’ve done, and what we need to do to create a sustainable world. we know we need to make this better, and that it will require a lot of all of us. and that we can rise to the challenge.
what the economic collapse gave us, gift wrapped in recycled kraft paper, is the opportunity to shake off savage capitalism. we have all been shown that it does not create a just, equitable, healthy and clean world. in fact, just the opposite. with this defunct way of looking at the world, the window to make anew has been opened, however briefly. what we’re able to do with that window, only time will tell.
when the rallying cries of the people for a brighter tomorrow start ringing in our ears, when the crowds move in one voice, “we’re all in this together” and when “yes we can” turns into “yes we are”, we will avalanche into the reality of what it means to believe in something greater than ourselves. when the we picks up all of us, celebrating in a new freedom and prosperity that we spent all our sweat and determination making, for all, as we bask in the warm glow of the sun.
one that powers, in one hour, the entire planet for a year. oh, it will be beautiful. -jk-
