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Art as Politics & Propaganda

By Billy X. Curmano

Artists have always been several steps ahead of the masses, predicting and at times guiding society. From the earliest cave painters to the present, visual images have guided and informed human behavior.

The recruiting posters that inspire nationalism over self-interest and a patriotic march to war are followed, or at times preceded, by placards that protest the very same. Blatant Madison Avenue and corporate calls to consumerism are tempered by labor and environmental warnings.

The failed art student, Adolph Hitler, knew well the power of the visual image. He designed symbols for the Nazi party. He encouraged an art of the state with exhibitions and propaganda films. One of the most famous Nazi exhibitions, "Degenerate Art," was intended to ostracize progressive artists of his day. Sometimes simply making art may be viewed as political, especially as it travels outside the accepted bounds of society.

When I returned from Vietnam in 1969, I was pissed off. People didn't understand the look of death in my eyes. I stumbled upon what would become the Milwaukee VVAW chapter camped out and occupying the University's front lawn. I went and got my tent.

I have the dubious distinction of being the first person arrested in the Student Strike at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Hmm ... would that be social conscience, PTSD, or overexuberance? A couple more mishaps, and I realized people pulled from the streets — unless in a truly significant act — just became casualties and created court costs that drained the anti-war movement. I didn't give up activism, but I vowed to play smarter.

I directed my anger into art and hoped to win some hearts and minds. I joined VVAW's Badger Liberation Tribe Theater, a hit-and-run guerilla troupe, and produced graphics and cartoons from my studio. It seemed to work and has remained my formula for over 35 years.

Earlier this year, I was asked to represent VVAW and perform at a Vets for Peace gathering near Red Wing, Minnesota. In going through my archives to create a portable display, I was delighted to find posters and photos from the likes of the Gainesville Conspiracy Trial, Nicaragua Delegation, American Indian Movement and so on. Additionally, I had collected work from other progressive artists around the world.

With a highly-charged political season at hand, I approached the Winona Arts Center and Film Society about squeezing in an extra show with a sense of political history. They gave me the honor of curating "Art as Politics & Propaganda," and VVAW was well-represented.

Besides my own work and the Art Works USA collection, Ron Luchau, a founding member of the Missoula, Montana chapter of VVAW, did a poetry reading at the opening. He also supplied handcrafted Native American ceremonial items from the inipi. Ironically, even though Americans tend to hold freedoms and especially the "freedom of religion" dear, this Native American spiritual practice was outlawed by the U.S. government until as recently as the late 1970s.

Videographer Mic Terry, formerly with the Chicago chapter, has relocated to New Zealand, but that didn't stop him from sending four highly-charged graphics. His video clip from a VVAW demonstration in front of the American embassy in Managua, Nicaragua during the Contra War was also included.

"Art as Politics & Propaganda" had masters from original cartoons like our own "Oxy the Smart Bomb," posters and silk-screened prints. There were hand-painted banners from VVAW and the Central America Resource Alliance. True to the "Art as Politics & Propaganda" theme, the Winona Film Society presented the documentary "Fog of War." Photographs, videos, political buttons, photo offset posters and lithos rounded out the display.

Northern Sun Merchandising in Minneapolis and the Center for the Study of Political Graphics in Los Angeles generously provided posters like "Rosie the Riveter," "Bathroom Bolsheviks" (circa 1930) and "War is not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things." Both organizations are a great source for political paraphernalia. There were also items from the Foundation for the Community of Artists, the American Indian Movement, Art Against Apartheid, Visual AIDS, Mississippi River Revival, and Art Not Arms for Central America. It seems especially appropriate in these volatile times to present some images that may well have changed opinions, provided inspirations, guided actions or even just been completely ignored.