Paris 68 Pins and Buttons
Description: In 1968, massive demonstrations occurred around the world protesting the Vietnam War, imperialism, consumerism, police violence and other issues. The largest took place in France, beginning with students in Paris and quickly spreading into factories. 11,000,000 workers—more than 22% of the total population of France at the time—went on strike for two continuous weeks in May. The student occupations and wildcat general strikes initiated across France were met with forceful confrontation by university administrators and police. Art students, faculty and staff from the Ecole des Beaux Arts established the Atelier Populaire (the Popular Workshop). They produced hundreds of silkscreen posters, including the one shown here.
Description: When French national radio and television went on strike in 1968, they commissioned posters from the French art students who formed the Atelier Populaire in Paris. During the strike, members of the Ministry for Home Affairs ran television and radio news bulletins at the request of the government. Many felt that they couldn't trust the pro-government propaganda coming over the air waves. The message of this poster, produced at the height of political unrest, is that the television news is a form of thought control. Televisual messages were presented as all the more manipulative by contrast with the directness of this poster: the medium works to reinforce the meaning.
