Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case Y, Shelf 66, Box E

When the slave of imperialism...

Poster
1970 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

For the artist Emory Douglas, using pigs to parody police and government officials was an important symbolic device. Though the cartoon style was light-hearted and comical, it was also designed as bitter provocation, baiting the sometimes brutal forces of law enforcement and imperialism.
The following quote is extracted from an interview with Douglas that featured in the book 'This Side of Glory' by David Hilliard and Lewis Cole (Boston: Little & Brown, 1993. page 151):
"...One day Huey [Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party] got an idea about the police. We had started calling the police swine because of the nature of their character - they had the most beastly character; dirty and filthy, abusing people and what have you. So Huey gets a picture of a pig and says he wants to put that in the paper - just on the front page - and put the badge of this policeman, who was in Oakland and who had been murdering and harassing people in the community. But from my learning in art school I saw a way of carrying things a step further, improving on it. I said, 'My man, why don't we dress them up, like humans, and stand them up?'
"And that's what I did. We put the cops on their feet and showed them running--bullets coming at them and them running. I think that captivated the attention...."


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWhen the slave of imperialism... (generic title)
Materials and techniques
printing
Brief description
Black Panther Party anti-imperialist poster by Emory Douglas. USA, 1970
Physical description
A crying pig, symbolising Imperialism, is being cut down by a black hand wielding an axe.
Dimensions
  • Height: 57.2cm
  • Width: 44.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Emory (artist's signature)
  • "When the slave of imperialism who lives inside the house of imperialism picks up guns against the imperialists to make common cause with the revolutionary peoples of the whole world, we know the days of the imperialist are numbered."
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
Production
distributed and posted in New Haven, Connecticut in April 1970
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Summary
For the artist Emory Douglas, using pigs to parody police and government officials was an important symbolic device. Though the cartoon style was light-hearted and comical, it was also designed as bitter provocation, baiting the sometimes brutal forces of law enforcement and imperialism.
The following quote is extracted from an interview with Douglas that featured in the book 'This Side of Glory' by David Hilliard and Lewis Cole (Boston: Little & Brown, 1993. page 151):
"...One day Huey [Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party] got an idea about the police. We had started calling the police swine because of the nature of their character - they had the most beastly character; dirty and filthy, abusing people and what have you. So Huey gets a picture of a pig and says he wants to put that in the paper - just on the front page - and put the badge of this policeman, who was in Oakland and who had been murdering and harassing people in the community. But from my learning in art school I saw a way of carrying things a step further, improving on it. I said, 'My man, why don't we dress them up, like humans, and stand them up?'
"And that's what I did. We put the cops on their feet and showed them running--bullets coming at them and them running. I think that captivated the attention...."
Other number
LS.1064 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number
Collection
Accession number
E.305-2004

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdAugust 4, 2004
Record URL
Download as: JSON