La violencia esta contra las olimpiadas!
Poster
1968 (made)
1968 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The Olympic games took place in Mexico City at a time of great social and political upheaval. The United States was fully entrenched in the Vietnam War. Inspirational public figures Martin Luther King, Jr. and US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy (brother of slain former President John F. Kennedy) had recently been assassinated. Within Mexico itself, the country faced many social and economic hardships aggravated by the nation's extravagant spending to host the games. Tens of thousands of Mexican students used the Olympics as an international platform to demonstrate their grievances and protest injustice in Mexico. In response, the police and the military resulted to brutal tactics to silence them. The violence culminated on 2 October 1968 when hundreds of students died in an unprovoked attack.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | La violencia esta contra las olimpiadas! (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Paper and ink |
Brief description | Anti-police brutality poster by Mexican students. 1968 |
Physical description | Poster protesting police brutality against students. Olympic games symbol behind masked and armed policeman on beige paper. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | LA VIOLENCIA/ ESTA CONTRA/ LAS OLIMPIADAS/ ¡NO LOS ESTUDIANTES! (right half of poster)
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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 |
Subjects depicted | |
Place depicted | |
Summary | The Olympic games took place in Mexico City at a time of great social and political upheaval. The United States was fully entrenched in the Vietnam War. Inspirational public figures Martin Luther King, Jr. and US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy (brother of slain former President John F. Kennedy) had recently been assassinated. Within Mexico itself, the country faced many social and economic hardships aggravated by the nation's extravagant spending to host the games. Tens of thousands of Mexican students used the Olympics as an international platform to demonstrate their grievances and protest injustice in Mexico. In response, the police and the military resulted to brutal tactics to silence them. The violence culminated on 2 October 1968 when hundreds of students died in an unprovoked attack. |
Other number | LS.1456 - Leslie Schreyer Loan Number |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.804-2004 |
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Record created | August 11, 2004 |
Record URL |
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