May '68 French Revolution - two posters
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| [Tuesday Morning at the Factory Gates - United Front - General Public and Workers], Ateliers Populaire, Sorbonne University, Paris, 28 May 1968. |
1. The fine arts are dead
Something strange happened in France during 1968, reaching a crescendo in the month of May. University students, workers and members of the general public participated in a series of protests, demonstrations, occupations and strikes which took the country to the verge of a popular revolution and ultimately resulted in the near downfall of the government of the day (Touraine 1971). Encounters between protesters and police in Paris were especially violent. There were injuries on both side, and hundreds of protesters were arrested (Seidman 2004). A unique and distinct aspect of the popular uprising was the formation by Paris-based university art students of community workshops known as Ateliers Populaire [Community Workshops / Printery]. These collectives were responsible for the production of a rich array of posters, produced in haste and cheaply for dispersal to the public and placement on billboards, hoardings, telegraph poles, the walls of factories and commercial buildings, and in shop windows. One commentator noted at the time that they were short-term works of revolutionary propaganda which revealed in their structure and form an urgent but temporary function and ephemeral nature (Berger 1968, 1969). The posters were unlike the ornate, multi-coloured stone lithographic equivalent of French history, since the period of the late 1700s exploring expeditions, the later La Belle Epoch at the end of the nineteenth century, and on through to movie and travel posters leading up the to the 1960s when the cheaper and less artistic offset photolithography too over.
It is said that some one million such posters were printed in association with the events of May and June 1968. Examples now reside in art gallery and museum collections around the world, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, where they are highly valued due to their artistry, distinct graphic design elements, and role as historical artefacts of a significant episode in French history. The ephemeral nature of the posters has enhanced their rarity, as most were immediately, and freely, distributed for posting by students and workers. As such, few have survived the more than 50 years since the famous, yet tumultuous events of May '68. At the time of production, special effort was made to publically disperse the posters in the most efficient manner, rather than make them available to collectors, or offer them for sale. On principle, they were not sold. A network of students, unionists and community members was formed to stealthily go about the job - usually under cover of darkness - of bill posting about the city and wherever there were situations of dissent and industrial unrest, such as in the Renault and Citroen production plants outside of Paris. Thankfully, many of the artists involved held on to a few copies for their own collections, some of those charged with posting took samples, whilst others simply tore them off walls, keen to obtain mementos of their struggle. The present author's copy of the Mardi Matin poster from 28 May 1968 (described below) is one such 'used' examples which is torn, water stained and bears evidence of its primary mission, viz. to advertise a public protest meeting. Many of the posters that survive therefore show evidence of contemporary use, with soiling, rips and tears, damage due to exposure to the elements, and the effects of aging as a result of the less than archival nature of the paper and inks used in their production. Even records of their posting are ephemeral. A relatively small collection of photographs exist of posters in situ, comprising mostly distant background shots of street corners or shadowy walls with peeling paint, upon which are posters often torn or partially obliterated by casting shadows and passing traffic.
With the authorities looking upon the posters as graffiti and undesirable propaganda pieces, they were often quickly removed, defaced or pasted over, as is often the case with such ephemeral material, whether it be of a political, community or commercial nature. The significant graphic qualities of the Mai '68 (May 1968) revolutionary posters are the result of both a crude simplicity in their production, the often amateur nature of the young artists involved, and the effort to achieve powerful messaging through simple design elements. The latter was in large part the result of the appraisal system set up by the student and community artists and their colleagues who, collectively, were responsible for decisions as to what would be printed. Designs were submitted for approval, and if voted for, there was a communal effort to see them through the production process. Also, it was generally agreed that the designers would remain anonymous - a decision made by many such poster collectives around the world in years to come, with a good example being the Australian Earthworks Poster Collective, Redback Graphix and Garage Graphics collectives of the 1970s and 1980s.
For students of graphic design and poster history, the Mai '68 movement posters have a readily identifiable style (Kukelberg and Vermés 2011). Text was hand drawn and images were, on the surface, simple, child-like and cartoonish. There was usually no ambiguity, no obvious attempts at individual, artistic expression. The message was the goal. As such, the posters were usually successful in achieving immediate impact due to their often confrontational nature. The image of a Paris policeman with helmet, goggles, truncheon and shield bearing the NAZI letters SS portrayed the harsh reality of their often violent treatment of protestors - a treatment that the protesters and student artists were experiencing first hand.
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| SS, Atelier Populaire, Paris, 18 May 1968. |
Most of the posters were printed on cheap, rough, white or cream paper - often thin newsprint - utilising the silkscreen process. Stone lithography was quickly abandoned as it was deemed too complex and unable to produce the quantities needed due to the limitations of the available workshop facilities. Most of the posters were of a single colour, predominantly black, though revolutionary red was also popular. On occasion blue, green, brown or purple inks were used, either singularly or in combination with one other. Multi-coloured prints were rare. The subjects of the posters were topically social and political, such as cuts to university funding, industrial relations reform, promotion of political ideologies, freedom of speech, especially for the young, police brutality, and societal inequality. It was largely French youth, alongside workers, rebelling against the tired, worn out war hero President Charles de Gaulle and the conservative government under Prime Minister Georges Pompidou. The government's immediate reaction to the protests was the use of extreme, often brutal measures to limit freedom of speech, halt the protests and constrain the conditions of workers. The May '68 almost revolution came at the same time as a general industrial disquiet throughout the nation. In addition, conscription of French youth was a sore point, as it was in America and Australia in support of the Vietnam war.
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| A student hurling rocks at the police in Paris during the May 1968 student uprising. The protests transformed France. Source: Gamma Keystone. |
The widespread civil unrest began in Paris early in May, though there had been disturbances on university campuses from November 1967. This followed on the restrictive reforms introduced that year by the Minister of Education, Christian Fouchet. These resulted in student strikes and, in January 1968, the use of police at the Nanterre University, Paris. Violent police encounters with striking workers also took place in January. A sit-in by students at Nanterre on 22 March was so violently dealt with that it gave rise to protests in support at the Sorbonne, and a general escalation in student opposition throughout France. The May 1968 uprising lasted some seven weeks and took the form of public protest, strikes, and the occupation of universities and factories. All of this was met with violent confrontation between students, workers and the police, and the rise of pro-government, right wing activist groups. On 30 May 500,000 workers rallied in Paris. Following a speech by President de Gaulle announcing elections on 23 June, a counter rally in support of the government was attended by 800,000 and put paid to the idea of a general populist revolution.
For those protesting and seeking political and social change, spreading the word called for the publication of declarations, manifestos, press items, newsletters, magazines, posters, leaflets and pamphlets. All of this activity was initially strongly opposed by the government and police, though it ultimately resulted in the granting of concessions by President Charles de Gaulle, the calling of elections in June and an accord with the unions (Wikipedia 2020). The mainstream media was heavily censored at the time by government and conservative forces who, in many instances, controlled them through business connections. Support for the government was also significant, with the country split down the middle and the older generation seemingly trapped in a post World War II and contemporary Cold War paranoia mindset, fearful of loosing the comforts and freedoms which they were increasingly experiencing as the Sixties unfolded. Not having known the difficulties of the Depression and war years, but angry at the threat of nuclear apocalypse or death on a foreign battlefield in a senseless war, the students were keen to extend their own freedoms, whilst the working class was also looking for a greater share in the country's prosperity. As a result, the events of May 1968 resulted in what must be regarded as more of a social revolution, rather than a political one which echoed the extreme events of French history which gave rise to the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789 and removal of the aristocracy with the assistance of the guillotine. Like the countercultural revolution taking place in Western nations during the second half of the 1960s and flowing into the following decade, this was a time of great change and a shrugging off of the conservatism and paranoia of the Cold War era. People sought peace and prosperity, rather than war and inequity. For this reason, the general population was happy, by the end of May, to get back to work and support the few concessions granted by government and the employers. The Left was left dissatisfied, especially by the fact that the revolution which had promised so much had, in fact, stalled and delivered so little. The police brutality remained, as did conscription. Dissident groups and organisations were banned in the months following the demonstrations, and Prime Minister Pompidou was eventually elected president, replacing the aged Charles de Galle.
2. Birth of a revolutionary art
A good example of the posters produced during the May '68 uprising, though not necessarily typical, is Les Beaux-Arts sont fermés / mais l'Art Révolutionnaire est né [The fine arts are dead / but Revolutionary Art is born], reproduced at the head of this article. It is roughly 12 x 24 inches (30 x 60 cm) in size, of portrait format, and printed in black or red ink on paper or card of a pale cream colour. An original copy is reproduced above, with missing ink on some letters, ink stains at the top, and a torn corner. All of this is evidence of the less than ideal printing conditions and subsequent use. The issue this poster addresses is the importance of art and the threat to fine arts courses by closures at the Sorbonne and other universities, just as similar posters addressed the threat to worker livelihoods through factory closures and unemployment. As a result, revolutionary art is identified as evolving, and being used, to fight the cuts on both fronts. The artists who produced and printed this poster remain anonymous, as was the case with the vast majority of prints produced during this period. They were mainly university students associated with the Atelier Populaire (Popular Workshop) at the School of Fine Arts [L'Etoile des Beaux Artes], Paris-Sorbonne University. Members of the public, including high school students, were also involved. Unionists played an important role in identifying issues and themes that could form the basis for a poster that would resonate with their membership (Cookney 2018). Unity and solidarity were common rallying calls, with silhouettes of groups of workers and students, raised fists and factory outlines featuring in the posters, alongside caricatures of politicians of the day and helmeted police.
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| Dans l’Atelier Populaire en 1968 [In the Popular Workshop during 1968]. Photographs: Philippe Vermés.Collection: Ecole Nationale des Beaux-arts de Paris. |
The activity in Paris during May quickly spread beyond the borders of France, influencing, and being influenced by, similar student and worker protest movements around the world. Nearby, there were student demonstrations in Germany, Poland, Italy and Spain. The United States was already a hive of such activity during 1968, spurred on by the war in Vietnam, the murder of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy, and the widespread use of drugs such as LSD which drove the movement away from war towards a quest for utopian peace and love. The so-called Summer of Love of the previous year had, unfortunately, turned into a dark, winter of discontent during 1968, culminating in the Kent State University shootings of May 1970 wherein 4 students were killed by members of the Ohio National Guard.
Industrial unrest in the United Kingdom, and its close proximity to France, resulted in the setting up of the Poster Workshop in London around June of 1968, with its mostly young artists and countercultural revolutionaries producing posters in a style similar to their French counterparts (Lord 2018). For example, in its June 1968 issue the leading London-based countercultural magazine OZ reported on the events of the previous month in France, reproducing one of the most notable of all posters - the May 17 image by Jacques Carelman of the truncheon and shield bearing Parisean policeman, with the NAZI letters SS super-imposed on the shield by an unknown artist. This was further enhanced by the OZ graphic designers with silhouettes of the police in action, superimposed upon the poster.
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| Riots in Paris, OZ magazine, London, June 1968. Design based on original poster and photographs. |
The French posters varied markedly from the mostly photolithographic music, personality and event posters coming out of centres such as San Francisco and London at the time (1966-70) in association with organisations such as the Fillmore and Avalon ballrooms in the US, and the Big O and Osiris posters commercial operations in the UK. These posters were multi-coloured, often psychedelic, collage-based, and veering away from specific political engagement, though the countercultural revolution was innately and broadly political, if not party political. They were also offered for sale in Head shops or through underground magazines, unlike those from the Atelier Populaire which rejected commodification.
The origin of the Les Beaux-Arts sont fermés / mais l'Art Révolutionnaire est né poster is not clear. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London ascribes the Atelier Populaire as its creator, though it is not cited amongst those works listed in the comprehensive catalogue by Kukelberg and Vermés published in 2011. One copy printed in red (illustrated below) bears the stamp of the Lycée Louis Le Grand, a prestigious Jesuit secondary school located in Paris.
Anonymous, Les Beaux-Arts sont fermés / mais l'Art Révolutionnaire est né [The fine arts are dead / but Revolutionary Art is born], silkscreen print, 30 x 63 cm, Atelier Populaire, Paris, May 1968.
It is possible that the Lycée Louis Le Grand stamp merely indicates that the poster came from the school's collection, rather than actually being printed there. Nevertheless, high school students were involved in the May '68 protests and some poster production.
The silkscreen method was used as it was able to produce posters quickly and on a variety of papers. Unfortunately, in their haste, the application of paint by amateur printers was often shoddy. Nevertheless, hundreds of different posters and leaflets were printed, and a wide variety of graphic forms were utilised. In many copies, the rushed printing has resulted in some sections showing only a light application of ink, or none at all. This is the case with the copy under discussion. The poster design is in some ways unique among the May '68 collection in that it presents an art historical perspective. It depicts Marianne, a bare-breasted, female allegorical figure from the time of the French Revolution, representing the concept of liberty. She was made famous in the 1830 painting by Delacroix titled Liberty leading the People.
pMany examples from the Atelier Populaire possess a stamp or other marking indicating such an origin, though a large number were not so marked, due in part to the hastiness of their production at a time of much social and political turmoil. The events of May 1968 have subsequently generated numerous books, articles, academic courses and conferences, and audiovisual items such as documentaries, with the posters featuring. Some of the latter are linked below.
The writing's on the wall: Revolutionary posters from May 68, France 24 English, 26 May 2018, YouTube, duration: 10.53 minutes. English version starts at 6.17. French version here.
The French Revolution of May 1968, The Communist, 2 November 2018, YouTube, duration: 64.52 minutes.
3. Mardi Matin, 28 May 1968
The second poster in this study is different from the first. It varies in format and size (landscape, bigger), colour (red ink is used), content (industrial focus) and condition (damaged). It is a notification of an upcoming public meeting and is entitled:
Mardi Matin - Aux Portes Des Usines Front Uni Population Travailleurs
[Tuesday Morning at the Factory Gates - United Front - General Public and Workers]
Whilst the Les Beaux-Arts sont fermés / mais l'Art Révolutionnaire est né poster posits a link between the fine arts and the French social revolution and protests of May 1968, the majority of posters produced by the Atelier Populaire during that period focussed on support for worker rights and conditions, alongside opposition to the then current political leadership and cuts to university courses. Various statements and manifesto, both during the May '68 events and later, refer to support for these issues by the student artists, and especially support of workers, whether they be local (i.e. French) or immigrant.
One such poster is Mardi Matin - Aux Portes Des Usines Front Uni Population Travailleurs. It was issued to promote a rally held on the morning of Tuesday, 28 May 1968, at various factory gates throughout France. It was likely produced, at the latest, on the weekend of 25-26 May. This would provide enough time for distribution to workers for posting around said factories and dispersal amongst the wider community. As the factory gate rallies were intended for both workers and the general population, it was important that this event received as much promotion as possible. It also came at a significant point in the unrest. By 28 May the situation in France was dire: there was effectively no government and the Socialist Francois Mitterand - opposed by Conservatives and supported by Communists - had nominated himself as the head of an interim government; the town of Nantes was governed by strike committees; General de Gaulle was about to head off to Germany for talks with the head of the French military; and the Minister of Education had resigned, with no resolution of the student demands (Kukelberg and Vermés 2011). On Sunday 26 May the Grenelle Agreements had been drafted between unions, employee federations and the government. The following day they were put to members and widely rejected as too weak. These were seen by many as a sell-out by union leadership. Therefore, there was a perceived need for public and worker factory gate meetings on the Tuesday to discuss the outcomes and the way forward. Mardi Matin [Tuesday Morning]... was produced at the high point of the unrest, as both Leftist and Conservative forces maximized their support base. Following the meetings of the 28th, the following day large meetings were held by the unions, culminating in the huge rallies on the 30th by both sides. The announcement of elections in June put an end to the general disquiet. However, over the following weeks demonstrations and confrontations between workers, students, supporters of de Gaulle and the police continued. These lasted through to Bastille Day (14 July) and beyond.
Whilst the events of the May 1968 demonstrations continue to be discussed and analysed, the posters reverberate to the present day, with many of the striking images highlighting the fact that the same issues continue to arise - improvement of workers rights and conditions, support for public education, and disenchantment with government, on both the individual and wider party level.
4. References
Action - protest newspaper founded in May 1968, Caricatures&caricature [blog], August 2015. [Collection of covers]. Available URL: http://www.caricaturesetcaricature.com/2015/08/action-journal-contestataire-fonde-en-mai-1968.html.
Wikipedia, Action (Journal), May 1968 - June 1969, Wikipedia [French], 2020. Available URL: http://www.caricaturesetcaricature.com/2015/08/action-journal-contestataire-fonde-en-mai-1968.html.
Artcurial, Mai 68 en 500 Affiches: Collection Laurent Storch, Artcurial [auction catalogue], 13 March 2018. Available URL: https://issuu.com/artcurialbpt/docs/3374.
Berger, John, The nature of mass demonstrations, New Society, 23 May 1968; International Socialism, 1(34), Autumn 1968, 11-12. Available URL: https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/isj/1968/no034/berger.htm.
-----, Art and Revolution: Ernst Neizvestny and the Role of the Artist in the U.S.S.R, Pantheon, New York, 1969. Available URL: https://vk.com/@ernstneizvestny-john-berger-art-and-revolution-about-propaganda-in-socialist.
Cookney, Daniel, May 1968: The posters that inspired a movement, The Conversation, 2018. Available URL: https://theconversation.com/may-1968-the-posters-that-inspired-a-movement-95619.
Kukelberg, Johan and Vermés, Phillip, Beauty is in the street: A visual record of the May '68 Paris uprising, Four Corners Books, London, 2011.
Lord, Sam, Poster Workshop 1968-71, Four Corners Books, London, 2018, 128p.
Seidman, Michael, The Imaginary Revolution: Parisian Students and Workers in 1968, International Studies in Social History, Berghahn Books, New York, 2004.
Touraine, Alain, The May Movement: Revolt and Reform - May 1968 - The Student Rebellion and Workers' Strikes - the Birth of a Social Movement, Random House, New York, 1971. Translated by Leonard F.X. Mayhew.
Wikipedia, May 68, Wikipedia [webpage], 2020. Available URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_68.
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Protest Posters: | Alice's Tea and Yellowcake 1977 | Garage Graphics | Getting a head on the dole 1982 | Joe Gomez 1967-8 | International Women's Day 1920+ | Mary Callaghan 1975-89 | Ooh Aah Dance Poster 1979 | OZ magazine 1964-71 | Paris May 68 | Redback Graphix 1979-2002 | Steel City Pictures | Toby Zoates 1977-2024 | Yanni Stumbles 1980-86 | Witchworks, Wollongong 1980-84 | Wollongong in Posters I, II |
Last updated: 1 April 2024
Michael Organ, Australia
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