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The Elections Don't Mean Shit
Students for a Democratic Society - Enlarge image
The Elections Don't Mean Shit
- Object:
Poster
- Place of origin:
United States (made)
- Date:
1968 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) (publishers)
- Materials and Techniques:
Offset lithograph
- Credit Line:
Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
- Museum number:
E.308-2004
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C, case Y, shelf 66, box E
Students for a Democratic Society was a radical political student organisation active in America during the 1960s and early '70s. It advocated 'participatory democracy', arguing that the American political system was only a democracy in name. The composition of the poster is carefully balanced, but the home-made 'cut-and-paste' style gives the protest energy and sincerity. The motif of the clenched fist was a widely recognised symbol of left-wing protest at the time.