"Free South Africa" - Silkscreen poster by Mark Vallen 1985
"Free South Africa" - Silkscreen poster by Mark Vallen 1985
"Free South Africa" - Silkscreen poster by Mark Vallen 1985
"Free South Africa" - Silkscreen poster by Mark Vallen 1985

BACK TO MAIN ART GALLERY

"Free South Africa"
Mark Vallen 1985
Offset poster 17" x 21" inches - $5.00

Vallen's 1985 poster played a historic role in the movement to liberate South Africa from white racist rule. The print was eventually included in The Path of Resistance, an exhibition of contemporary protest art held at New York City's Museum of Modern Art in 2000. Organized by Joshua Siegal and Susan Kismaric, the exhibit traced 40 years of socially critical and politically charged art.

A few copies of this rare poster are still available, click here to purchase one.

Artist's statement:

"I created this poster in 1985 to support the freedom struggle of the South African people, who were living under a brutally racist white minority regime. Used at anti-apartheid rallies, student occupations of universities, and protests in front of South African embassies all across the US - thousands of these posters were given away, sold, and wheat-pasted on city streets.

In 1985 the administration of Ronald Reagan was openly supporting the apartheid regime in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was in prison and regarded as a 'terrorist' by US policy makers. It's worth noting that US Vice President, Dick Cheney, was in fact at the time opposed to the release of Mandela in the 1980's. However, people all over the world were supporting Mandela's African National Congress (ANC) and the movement for a free and democratic South Africa. I was naturally overjoyed with the eventual liberation of Mandela, the total defeat of the criminal racist regime, and the victory of the South African freedom struggle."

Vallen's poster was used at anti-apartheid demonstrations in the 1980s.
Vallen's poster was used at anti-apartheid demonstrations in the 1980s.
Vallen's poster was used in the 1980s across the US during massive anti-apartheid rallies. In this 1986 photo, hundreds of protestors in front of the racist South African Consulate in Beverly Hills, California, called for its closure, a demand that was eventually victorious.

By special arrangement with Columbia Pictures, Vallen's street poster appeared in the film, The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith. The poster was used as set dressing to lend authenticity to the movie's depiction of San Francisco in the 1980s. For the full story on the poster's appearance in The Pursuit of Happyness, read Vallen's blog.

www.art-for-a-change.com is owned and operated by Mark Vallen © All artworks and text by Mark Vallen