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Artist Message
Social Justice 2008, 12 Posters by Luba Lukova Publisher: Clay & Gold (2008) ISBN-13: 978-0978837204 Product Dimensions: 21.5 x 14 x 0.4 inches Available at www.clayandgold.com Social Justice 2008 is a powerful portfolio that features 12 thought-provoking posters by world-renowned artist and designer Luba Lukova. This collection swiftly and ably showcases Lukova's masterful use of metaphors and symbols to express themes that include peace, war, ecology, immigration, and privacy. Her distinctive style and vigorous visual imagination distill issues such as these into deceptively simple, yet formidably brilliant images, images that not only transfix, but that have the power to become indelible. Lukova's portfolio captures many of the complex issues our society faces in this election year and yet each poster speaks to the viewer in an accessible and honest way. Surrounded by a case featuring hundreds of Lukova's preliminary sketches, this portfolio can only be categorized as a tour de force. Writer and social activist Margaret Scarsdale writes the accompanying essay. About the Artist Luba Lukova is an internationally recognized artist and designer. Her posters are exhibited around the world and have won many awards including World's Most Memorable Poster award at the International Poster Salon in Paris. Her distinctive art has been featured in The New York Times, Time, and The Nation. She lives in New York. The Modern Day Faces of Social Injustice: Thought-Provoking Images as a Catalyst for Change It might be said that artists by nature long for a just and equitable world (as do people from all callings), and that this longing is what distinguishes humans from the animal kingdom, where power and might are the forces most in play and where, indeed, they most often win out. It might also be true that sometimes the harsh realities of human life make it look as if the ideal of justice in our society is a utopian dream. Yet progress towards social justice has only ever been possible because of those who would dare to dream, the “idealists”–those labeled “Quixotes”even–who have the courage to stand for what their hearts tell them is right and just. No matter, the skeptics will say that it is naive to imagine a fragile gazelle will conquer the jungle predator as depicted on the cover of this publication. But the visual metaphor is not only a symbol of hope, it is an inexorable and urgent call for action: In a world full of duplicitous metaphors, it is time to take a critical look at the true face of the policies and procedures that shape our lives. Lukova reminds us that democracy and freedom, the cornerstones of social justice, are not mere words, they are states of being–expressions of life–and their existence is proved or disproved by the policies and actions of a government that professes these high ideals. Democracy and freedom are, in truth, fragile social constructions, and as such, constantly depend on those who would advocate for them, just as they are constantly susceptible to those who would subvert them, no matter what the guise. Ms. Lukova does not presume to decide for anyone what they should conclude from the images in this portfolio, rather she leaves it to the viewer to draw their own conclusions about each poster’s meaning … to create their own paths of change if they share her belief that action–that change–is not only necessary, it is just and it is right. And one is hard-pressed to view this powerful collection, compare it to the empirical policies that led to the art’s creation, and not believe that change is most emphatically necessary. This Social Justice portfolio is a tour de force, but it will surely not be without controversy, as great works of art often are. If you feel that the news you hear and read–dominated by a few mega-conglomerates–is fair and just; if you feel that healthcare is affordable and equitable, although 40 million Americans–including children–have no healthcare at all; and if you feel that our world is safer now than ever–in spite of two on-going wars, a budget deficit projected into the trillions, global scientific acknowledgement of world-wide climate change, and unchecked nuclear proliferation–then surely this portfolio will have little appeal. For those whose lives are touched and informed by the art in this collection, the catalyst for change now resides with you. Margaret Scarsdale yinwriter@yahoo.com |
