Power to Imagination

Power to Imagination showcases posters from the late 19th century to Robert Indiana's designs for Barack Obama, illustrating the story of protest. Contemporary events are seen through the eyes of 20th-century artists, expressing a passion for freedom and human rights, and demanding equality and tolerance.

L'imagination au pouvoir was a slogan devised by artist Pierre Aléchinsky during the May 1968 student riots in Paris. The appeal of political posters for avant-garde artists comes from their dual inspiration of utopian ideals and living history. The postwar period, marked by Picasso's unassuming dove image adopted by the Communist peace movement, was succeeded by the determined resistance of the younger generation in the 1960s. In 1968, many supported the students' demands and produced political posters. By the 1970s, the focus shifted to minority rights, followed shortly by concern over environmental pollution, which greatly concerned artists like Joseph Beuys.

In the mid-80s, the AIDS scare drew attention to discrimination and social marginalisation, and the concept of equality resurfaced, especially in the works of American artists such as Keith Haring and Jenny Holzer. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, along with globalization, was reflected in posters by Robert Rauschenberg and others.

This narrative of international protest movements, told through the vivid designs by some of the great artists of our time, also portrays the art of the period. Though a selective view, it nonetheless reflects an astonishing continuity and authenticity. The publication includes works by notable artists such as Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Antoni Tàpies, Joan Miró, and Roy Lichtenstein, amongst others.