Palestinian Revolutionary Posters

Published in Palestinian Affairs Magazine, Issue 41/42, January-February 1975.
Archive: "Palestinian Revolutionary Posters" by Zahi Najib Khoury (1975)

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The Palestinian revolution was accompanied by a great artistic movement that had positive dimensions and repercussions on more than one level. There is no doubt that it is still too early to assess this movement-renaissance because, firstly, we are still living in its midst and a long period of time must pass before this renaissance completes its character, and secondly, because Palestinian artistic production is dispersed in various parts of the world and needs to be collected and studied. to a long time and effort. I do not think that any of the Arab critics has begun to work in this way. So comprehensive evaluation or criticism at this present time cannot fulfill the right of Palestinian art, and it must be truncated, no matter how hard the critic tries to research it.

The aspect that we will address in these words, albeit briefly, is related to (graphic) art, i.e. works of art that are printed on hundreds or even thousands of copies, and most aim at conveying a message or idea to the largest possible number of people in an easy way that depends on comprehension. quick theory. Examples include newspaper advertisements, postage stamps, greeting cards and posters. We will focus in particular on the latter.

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The first observation that we can make with confidence is that the Palestinian revolution began in an era, or even a decade, in which human history has not witnessed more interest and influence in the media, and therefore a willingness to adopt everything that is not strange, beautiful and logical at the same time. Newspapers, magazines and other publications, in addition to Radio and television transmit daily to and from different parts of the world hundreds of political, social and commercial ideas that modern man absorbs with amazing speed and intuition. These audio-visual aids have never been the focus and attention they have been in the past few years.

The general media atmosphere, then, was ready when the Palestinian revolution carried out its goals and news quickly to a large number of Arab and international communities. The revolution at the leadership and other levels was aware of this important aspect and gave it special attention. Of course, we are not here in the position to evaluate the results of this movement and discuss the counter-Zionist media outlets that dominate the world, which succeeded, until recently, in obscuring many facts and distorting the justice of our great cause.

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Undoubtedly, an extensive flow of research and studies accompanied the Palestinian revolution in a way rarely witnessed by any similar revolutionary or intellectual movement in history. It was natural that these works resulted in a broad printing movement that included several Arab capitals, and the Lebanese capital played a key role in it, as a large number of Palestinian and other media circles made Beirut their main center. We do not exaggerate if we say that a respectable section of the printing sector in Beirut relied for its development in recent years on what resulted from the revolution in terms of wide media movements. Since these departments paid special attention to the technical aspect, the Palestinian publications were produced - so to speak - at a level that can be described, if compared to international levels, as mostly good and some excellent. As a revolutionary shroud, this level is considered unusual as hardly any revolutionary movement has produced publications of this level.

Here we must pay tribute to the private research, academic and media centers and institutions that have endeavored to raise the level of their printing publications so that we can reach Western societies more easily.

We must also say here that by the term "art of the revolution" we do not mean any clear-cut and planned artistic direction or movement by individuals or organizations, and we do not even mean that this art is necessarily the product of Palestinian artists and not others. This art means to us the aesthetic means that is used to convey or interpret an idea or reality that is supportive of the Palestinian people.

One of the advantages of the art of the revolution is that it brought together a large number of Arab artists and designers, who sometimes participated in producing unified works that were an example of technology and aesthetics. And if we consider that the advertisements in support of the Palestinian people, which appeared in major American and European newspapers, are part of this art, we must refer to some foreign artists residing among us who have contributed effectively to conveying the image of the Palestinian reality in a way that the Western mentality can easily understand.

However, the bulk of the art of the revolution was and still is the work of Palestinian artists that people rarely hear about or know anything about their personalities. They were particularly creative in designing posters that, more than any other printing media, reflected the stages of the Palestinian cause clearly, simply, and sometimes with bold spontaneity.

The importance of posters as a media tool does not need much explanation, as the distribution of posters is not limited to libraries or individuals interested in the cause, as is the case in books, or to reading specific newspapers, as is the case in press articles or advertisements, or to friends and acquaintances, as is the case with greeting cards. It transcends all of these, as its dissemination can take place in the streets and squares, and it can enter public halls, halls, and even homes. It can be movable when it is attached to public transportation or raised during demonstrations and popular marches. The beautifully produced poster has the character of permanence as it is kept within frames as a work of art that imposes itself.

The importance of basic posters, then, lies in the abundance and ease of their dissemination, and thus in their display, rather imposing their vision on every member of society who can read.

The second importance generally lies in the simplicity of the posters in terms of output. A single expressive image or a few well-crafted words can convey a situation or broadcast an idea so that it can be understood popularly and at various cultural and social levels with spontaneous ease.

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If we review the hundreds of posters that were issued by Palestinian or pro-Palestinian organizations during the past ten years, we will notice the tidy and subconscious development that occurred in the atmosphere and the topics that were dealt with. These posters were and still reflect the general Palestinian feeling that accompanied each time