Graphic Advocacy: International Posters For The Digital Age, At Schick Art Gallery

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Schick Art Gallery at Skidmore College will present Graphic Advocacy: International Posters for the Digital Age, 2001-2012, an exhibition of advocacy posters by artists from around the world this spring. With topics ranging from environmental degradation to dirty politics to human rights, these posters are shrewd, visually compelling and often witty in their illustration of complex contemporary issues. The exhibition will open with a reception from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, at the gallery. Admission to the reception and the gallery are free and open to the public. The exhibition continues until May 2. Elizabeth Resnick, chair of Graphic Design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, curates Graphic Advocacy. Resnick writes, “Posters are dissent made visible – they communicate, advocate, instruct, celebrate, and warn, while jarring us to action with bold messages and striking iconography.” All the posters in the Schick Gallery are printed and framed, but many are made with viewing on websites and over mobile devices in mind. The Internet has enabled designers to create and disseminate non-commissioned posters about current issues without worrying about labor and printing costs. Resnick noted this trend over the past decade, stating, “In 2005, the notion of ‘the citizen designer’ was gaining momentum….” In 2011, following the outpouring of support by such ‘citizen designers’ for survivors of the Fukushima tsunami, she was motivated to create this exhibition. The entire exhibit consists of 122 posters. The Schick Art Gallery will present a selection of 75 – 100 of these, and Professor Deb Hall’s Communication Design students are participating in the editing process. Short statements written by the students in support of their selections will be presented as part of the exhibition. Skidmore’s Schick Art Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, and from noon to 4 p.m. weekends. Admission is free. The gallery web site is skidmore.edu/Schick.