HH Trip: Protest Art at the Dodd Center
On March 2, the sophomore Humanities House class had the pleasure of going to the Dodd Center archives and viewing a few selections of protest art. These works ranged from printed art, to graffiti, to stickers, posters, and more. Various issues were represented in the pieces, such as indigenous issues and rights, climate justice, and immigrant rights. Brief presentations were given on each table, which represented a certain issue/body of work.
Protest art has been used for hundreds of years. For many, the word “protest” itself conjures up walls plastered with posters and crowds of people holding up signs. Getting people to pay attention is hard, and visual media is one of the most easily captivating modes of transferring ideas. Many pieces of protest art make use of bright colors, symbolism, or recurring motifs that make the group and their message easily recognizable. For instance, the black fist representing the Black Lives Matter movement. Symbols like these show the movement is widespread and alive when they’re seen incidentally across the country and many different spaces. It’s easily recognizable, and carries the weight of a movement’s messages and ideology. This means that it is easier to network and gain traction with visual media. Protest art is also low cost, which helps less financially able groups get their message across for less. Since many oppressed groups lack the financial resources of their oppressors, low budget means of protest and organizing are essential. Another main point of protest art is to elicit strong emotions. Protest is meant to stir people up, and targeting people’s emotions is one way this is effectively accomplished. Shocking, evocative imagery easily appeals to people. It can be hard to put social issues into words, but images are much more accessible.
Visual media also does not rely on a single speaker to convey the message. If someone can draw a symbol, or print and paste a poster, they can be a part of the protest group. Protest art is a form of civil disobedience most can take part in, so even if they can’t do sit-ins or throw themselves on the front lines, they can make signs, stickers, posters, and paintings. Protest art like graffiti is also a form of physically dismantling metaphorical ideas and institutions. Graffiti is often illegal, and a form of obvious rebellion. It’s low cost, low skill, and spray cans, like posters and stickers, are portable. Spray painting words or symbols on government buildings, for example, carries a powerful message. Defacing public property not only sends a message to the oppressors, but to anyone that views it, another way to make voices widely heard without the speaker being physically present.
Archiving protest art gives a more honest depiction of the protestors and their message. It’s easy for history to be doctored to hide certain faces and facts. Collecting visual media directly from activists or even their antagonists and oppressors helps paint a more complete picture of a movement, its message, impact, time period, and the people involved from all sides. The archivist at The Dodd Center explained that he even collected the stickers stuck around campus by a white supremisict group years ago because having these things, and being able to present them physically to people, is proof of a real struggle and a real event in history. Future generations being able to see and feel the protest art of people past preserves the ideas this art represents, and the memories of the people that fought hard for their beliefs and against their oppressors.
The goal of protest is to make unheard voices heard. Words can fade and be lost to time, erased. People change and die. So much of protest and so many movement’s messages can be twisted beyond recognition. However, art allows a lasting voice to be heard. So long as the art is preserved, the movement, its message, and people are preserved with it. Protest art can always be recreated even when torn, burned, or discarded, the message finding new ways to express itself. It may be possible to silence voices and kill leaders, but the spirit of a movement carries on, and protest art is one of the most easily recognizable forms of this spirit.
After presentations were given at each table in the Dodd center, we were asked sets of questions. The class very willingly engaged in the discussion. It was far easier to remark on a single piece of art when asked about it than an entire ideology, which proved protest art’s efficacy in evoking messages that can be articulated by its viewers. Like many others, I was fascinated at the beauty and breadth of the protest art. It’s stunning to see a well organized and preserved collection of people’s hard work and staunchly held beliefs. It was incredibly inspiring, which goes to prove protest art’s importance again. Protest art is a brilliant and very physical reminder that there’s always people fighting for change, and we can all be a part of it.
