The Glasgow School of Art

From Cuban posters to inflatable cobblestones: how art and design can achieve political change
Catherine Flood, Prints Curator, V&A 
GFT, Rose Street

This talk draws on the content of two current exhibitions: Posters of the Cuban Revolution, The Glasgow School of Art (until 31 October) and Disobedient Objects, V&A London (until 1 Feb 2015)  to think about the role that art and design plays within revolutionary societies and activist social movements.

As a public medium with a social-political purpose, posters offered artists in Cuba a way of conceiving the place of art within the revolution. In the late 1960s and early 70s Cuban posters were hailed for avoiding both the frivolity of pure aestheticism and the banality of pure utilitarianism, inspiring poster-makers in protest movements around the world.

Social movement cultures, however, produce many forms of art and design. Disobedient Objects looks at the increasing importance of creative forms of activism from the late 1970s to now – a period of new political challenges and technological developments. It tells an overlooked history of art and design from below and questions how we judge cultural value. 

Catherine will conclude by discussing some of the issues involved in viewing objects whose context is revolution and social struggle in a gallery.

Catherine Flood is co-curator of the V&A’s current exhibition Disobedient Objects and a co-editor of the accompanying publication. She is a Prints curator at the V&A specialising in posters, graphics and popular print culture. Her other recent publications include British Posters: Advertising, Art and Activism (V&A Publishing, 2012) and Style and Satire: fashion in print 1777-1927 co-written with Sarah Grant (V&A, 2014). She has curated a number of exhibitions on themes of political posters and nineteenth-century prints and society. She chairs the UK’s Subject Specialist Network for posters.

This Friday Event is co-hosted by the GSA School of Fine Art and the School of Design.