decorate my apartment with propaganda and dissent!

Cafe Society
1

I’ve just gotten my very first apartment, and I’m psyched. I actually want to put some thought into how I’ll be decorating this thing, and I’ve decided the walls need framed prints of great works of propaganda and dissent. Because, well, I’m a giant nerd.

By “propaganda” I mean the obvious - things like old Soviet realist posters, Works Projects Administration posters, and so on. “Dissent” refers to, well, famous works of art that portray or advocate political dissent. The photo of the “Tank Man” from Tiannamen Square would count - so, too, would works of art by Soviet dissidents.

So, my task for the Teeming Millions - point me towards art in keeping with this theme! It should be stuff I can actually buy - preferably cheap prints, preferably from Amazon - and the more obscure, the better.

Thanks, all!

2

It sounds like what you want is http://www.morethanposters.com/ They have a good collection of many different styles. Soviet, WPA, British World War, Spanish Civil War, even WW2 French and Belgian. Most posters cost $19.99, but for how obscure some of these are it’s actually a good deal, and it’s free shipping to the US and Canada. You may also like their collection of vintage TV and movie prints, like this King Kong.

I also use art.com. They have a wide selection, they’re very big so the service is reliable, and the prices aren’t bad. But don’t ever pay full price there. Sign up for the email alerts and they’ll send you coupon codes. I get those things all the time, so 30% or Free Shipping isn’t uncommon. Some of mine include vintage Guinness ad, vintage Egypt travel poster, To Hell With Hitler poster, and so on.

You’re actually in luck, because they have a January clearance sale that ends tonight (Friday). Up to 75% off on clearance stuff plus 20% off side-wide. Use code EAGLES. I’d totally hit that up, but I’ve got enough posters and I’m about to move anyway. (Upon Preview: Actually, now that I’m looking at the selection…)

You can get Tiananmen Square Tank Man for $10 (incl. shipping) off Amazon link. In fact, Art.com is on Amazon Marketplace and MoreThanPosters just opened their shop on there as well.

In a December holidays gifting thread someone linked to northernsun.com, which has some cool posters. My favorite is this Black Death European Tour 1347. Only 8 bones.

On another note, I don’t know what the terms of your apartment lease and the size of your security deposit are, but on a cost/effect ratio one of the cheaper ways to decorate a wall is paint it. You can do an accent wall (where one wall in a room is painted a certain color), or you can paint a design. Either draw and brush, like this cool tree, or take out a stencil and spraypaint the fucker. Directions on that here.

3

Thanks. Skylark! Those links are excellent - very helpful.

4

With a collection like that, sounds to me like a “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster is an absolute must. Plus you can get them in all sorts of colours, so that it will match up nicely with whatever dominant colour scheme you choose.

For some odd reason, that particular poster has gotten ridiculously popular in the past year or so, so you should be able to pick one up just about anywhere (or bring a digital copy of the image to a print shop to have them do up a print for you, if you want to go super-cheap… the image is in the public domain, so there are no copyright issues to worry about)

5

Make sure to have copies of Das Kapital and Mein Kampf placed prominently on the coffee table. :smiley:

6

My recommendation would be the vintage section of allposters.com, subsection propaganda.

7

Man, those kind of posters creep me out. They draw me in and repel me simultaneously.

How about the picture of the burning monk? Thích Quảng Đức (I can never remember that name without googling). That is my second favorite poster of all time. Is that a bit too much, though?

How about myfavorite poster, then?

8

Yah - if I’ve got a date over, I’d prefer that she thinks my tastes are eclectic, rather than psychotic.

9

Does anyone make a ‘Who is Atlas?’ poster?

:smiley:

10

I think that people who pre-order Bioshock 2 from Gamestop get one - not sure, though.

People should pre-order it anyway, of course - the original rocked, and I’m certain the sequel will as well. :smiley:

11

You gonna wear your Che shirt while sitting around in this apartment? ;p

12

“Solidarity”
“count on me”, another Solidarity poster

13

You know, of course, that Hitler and Marxists were bitter enemies…

But why just use propaganda of the past? For some real bite, get some modern anti-corporate propaganda. More.

14

You could always go with this. (Kidding, kidding!)

15

Be sure to check out Adbusters. They have wonderful things.

“I want you to curb your consumption”, has always been a favorite of mine.

And the anti Nike one: “Phil Knight has a vision, he’d sell shoes. He’d sell dreams. He’d get rich. He’d use sweatshops if he had to. Then along came a new shoe. Plain. Simple. Cheap. Fair. Designed for only one thing: Kicking Phil’s ass.” (it’s on the wall in my bathroom!)

16

That’s excellent! Thank you.

17

These are all so very cool, especially 'cuz I’m a history dork. I’m trying to find an Army Air Corps, but I’m not having any luck.

Anywho, what the hell is up with this one?

18

I want that alcohol tree one, or the one about absinthe.

19

Is your washroom breeding Bolsheviks?.

We have this one framed, hanging on our bathroom door.

20

It looks like it might be a Vichy France poster, actually - it portrays the US as a rather unfriendly-looking octopus with dollar signs in its eyes, which is not exactly flattering. Also - my French is terrible, but I suspect “Non! Le France ne sera pas un pays colonise!” means something like “No! France will not be colonized/a colony!” So, it’s the Vichy government trying to mobilize opposition to the Allies - particularly the US - by claiming that Vichy defeat will subject the people to American rule.

Or maybe not - did I mention that I got Ds in high school french?