“Armed with the knowledge of our past, we can charter a course for our future. Only by knowing where we’ve been can we know where we are and look to where we want to go.” – Malcolm X. This quote sparked the Just Seeds project, Celebrate People’s History. Hanging in the gallery, right on our campus, right now, are a slew of posters celebrating us and the movements that have created change. If you are struggling with the torrent of emotions caused by our political climate and are in desperate need for relief, this show may be just the thing for you.
Josh McPhee, the organizer and creator of this project, is not an artist. He is an activist who utilizes printmaking, a powerful force with deep roots in activism.
It all started with the Gutenberg Printing Press in 1439 which launched the Printing Revolution allowing for the mass spread of written information to be passed rapidly from person to person. Printmaking has come to encompass not only text, but art as well, by allowing artists to create multiples of a work in quick succession.
It is this characteristic of rapid mass production that has lent printmaking to social movements allowing people to spread messages in a visually engaging way, which people often forget is a valuable strategy.
Josh McPhee’s Just Seeds printing organization does just that by creating visually engaging posters that educate and communicate. These are not works of art that are meant to be hung in a gallery and be sold to the highest bidder, but are rather works meant to be wheat-pasted in public spaces for all to see.
The organization, Just Seeds, is people based. It is completely self-sufficient and does not rely on any outside money-save the money coming in from donations and the selling of, may I say very affordable, prints.
At five bucks apiece, McPhee can sell enough to fund the organization and start another project. There are 29 artists who are members of Just Seeds, many of whom are international, but despite the distance, all of the artists collaboratively create projects like Celebrate People’s History to share knowledge and encourage communication and discussion.
One of the key resources Just Seeds provides is its free distribution of creative commons graphics. You can go to their website and download high quality graphics that you are then allowed to use as is, or manipulate in any way to fit your needs. You do not need to pay to download these graphics, they are available for anyone with access to the internet. McPhee believes that the less ownership there is of this work, the higher the social reward will be.
Communication and sharing are priorities that top profit in this organization.
This is a powerful project and empowers people with knowledge, but don’t take my word for it, go see for yourself. Just visit the Richard F. Brush Art Gallery and go to: https://justseeds.org/