A cornerstone of the Black Panthers until their dissolution in the early 1980s, Douglas was one of the first agitants to use the visual language of the right wing to express the ideas of the left. His powerful pieces swapped hand-wringing for aggression and victim status for insurgency. Using a strong but consistent, simple yet brutal visual style Douglas’ artwork defined the Black Panther’s pride, resourcefulness and charisma. The illustrations’ accompanying battle cries, including ‘all power to the people’, ‘in revolution one wins and one dies’ and ‘seize the times’, entered the lexicon of a generation.
In and out of youth detention as a teen, Douglas kept busy working in the print shop of Ontario’s Youth Training School. Encouraged to draw by social workers, he went on to study commercial art at San Francisco’s community college, where he learned to use collage and what would today be called ‘found media’ to create high-impact pieces using minimal time and money.
Employing a ‘DiY’ ethos to make potent, populist imagery re-enforced by slogans is a defining characteristic of many of today’s heralded street artists. The Outsiders gallery group is also home to a massed collection of political art from throughout the modern era, including the Situationists’ ‘Mai 68’ posters. For these reasons Emory Douglas’ art makes a proud and worthwhile addition to our roster.
The Outsiders - 8 Greek Street - London - Soho - W1D 4DG
Thursday 18th of August 2011 to Saturday 10th of September 2011
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