The Socio-Political Poster in the Digital Age
The socio-political poster has always been at the core of the society, defining its culture, its economy or worldview. Used to convey messages or announce upcoming major events, posters have experienced a spectacular development throughout the 20th Century: as an art form, an advertising tool or a pure reflection of the society. In the contemporary digital age, the socio-political poster has been seriously transformed according to the demands of activist communities and the feedback of the general public. The present article intends to address a series of issues related to this transformation of the socio-political poster in the digital age, focusing on the perspective of the creator of the poster. First of all, we will point out the characteristics of the activist movements, the online or cyberactivism and the culture jamming phenomenon to state the socio-cultural background that influences the creator of the poster. Next, we will designate three major conditions that lead to the creation of a particular graphic style, recurrent and recognisable for the socio-political poster: the recomposing graphic elements, the return to traditional graphic techniques and the reconsideration of the authorship through the copyleft exercise. Last, but no least, we will include a series of examples from the socio-political poster creation practice, which will support and illustrate our affirmations.
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