BookList: "This fresh guide, which introduces an array of diverse artists and activists and offers insightful tips about art, should inspire aspiring artivists..."
This attractive offering serves as a primer on using graphics and visuals as forms of public communication. Author Nichols is a social- and racial-justice activist who provides considerable and helpful artistic advice through the lens of public protest. Assuming no previous knowledge, she introduces past and current protest movements, identifies the meanings behind their associated slogans and symbols, and explains why these choices make an impact. Nichols encourages readers to create their own protest art, offering practical guidance on basic components (color, font, word choice), media (sticky notes, poster board, chalk, collage, photography), and display (leaflets, signs, T shirts, memes, guerrilla art, flash mobs, culture jamming, and projection art). Appropriately, pages are set off in dramatic blocks of color wrapped around all kinds of graphics, such as highlighted quotes, original art, and reproductions from innovative street artists, including Banksy and Keith Haring. Nichols calls herself an "artivist," and this fresh guide, which introduces an array of diverse artists and activists and offers insightful tips about art, should inspire aspiring artivists like her.