Signal is an ongoing book series dedicated to documenting and sharing compelling graphics, art projects, and cultural movements of international resistance and liberation struggles. Artists and cultural workers have been at the center of upheavals and revolts the world over, from the painters and poets in the Paris Commune to the poster makers and street theatre performers of the recent counter globalization movement. Signal will bring these artists and their work to a new audience, digging deep through our common history to unearth their images and stories. We have no doubt that Signal will come to serve as a unique and irreplaceable resource for activist artists and academic researchers, as well as an active forum for critique of the role of art in revolution.
In the U.S. there is a tendency to focus only on the artworks produced within our shores or from English speaking producers. Signal reaches beyond those bounds, bringing material produced the world over, translated from dozens of languages and collected from both the present and decades past. Although a full color printed publication, Signal is not limited to the graphic arts. Within its pages you will find political posters and fine arts, comics and murals, street art, site specific works, zines, art collectives, documentation of performances and articles on the often overlooked but essential role all of these have played in struggles around the world.
Highlights of the second volume of Signal include:
- Anarchist Manga in Japan
- Breaking Chains: Political Graphics and the Anti-Apartheid Struggle
- Selling Freedom: Promotional Posters from the 1910s
- Street Art, Oaxacan Struggle, and the Mexican Context
- Covering the Wall: Revolutionary Murals in 1970s Portugal
- Røde Mor—Danish printmaking, pop music, and politics
What People Are Saying
"Signal reads like a magazine in that it consists of a number of smaller, independent articles but the loose continuity of subject holds it together as a book. As a series, this is going to be a great resource. Dunn and MacPhee are filling a void in terms of political graphics; there’s a lot of material for them to cover and this is solid start." —Printeresting.org
"Signal is dotted with stunning photography that will certainly reel in many people who are into unusual art. Clocking in at just under 140 glossy pages, Dunn and MacPhee do an impressive job of conveying not only what is new and relevant in political art, but also its history and its presence in the everyday." —Political Media Review
About Josh MacPhee
Josh MacPhee is an artist, curator and activist currently living in Brooklyn, NY. His work often revolves around the themes of social movements, history, and public space. His most recent book with PM is is Paper Politics: Socially Engaged Printmaking Today. He also organizes the Celebrate People's History Poster Series, regularly produces posters and graphics for political groups and events, and is part of the political art cooperative Justseeds.org.
About Alec Icky Dunn
Alec "Icky" Dunn is an illustrator, amateur historian, and printer living in Portland, OR. He has designed book and record covers, political graphics and punk fliers. He is a member of the Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, and more of his work can be seen at Blackoutprint.com.