Egyptian Artists Fight for Freedom in New Exhibition

Artists in Egypt gathered together to take part in a new exhibition titled “Long Live Free Art” earlier this month. The exhibition started in Cairo on the 15th January, and featured succinct, clever and artistic cartoons and drawings that highlight the freedom of expression issues going on in Egypt today. The exhibition features cartoons including anti-censorship works such as “Your Fear is their Power”, and “Holy Pain”

Egiptian Cartoon

Egiptian Cartoon


The exhibition shows the Egyptian art world’s string resistance to the country’s new constitution, which was approved at the end of December 2012. Artists, curators, academics and critics, as in cartoons history, formed an unlikely partnership to speak out against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s controversial charter, which was a victory for Islamists.
It’s not just artists that have spoken out against the new constitution. Members of the public have formed together to take part in mass protests, send open letters, and create their own street art. More demonstrations are expected to take place throughout the next few weeks, as people fight for their right to freedom of speech.
The “Long Live Free Art” exhibition is particularly interesting because the cartoons and art produced for it are the ultimate in powerful but peaceful protests. Fatenn Mostafa, founder of Art Talks Egypt, and curator of the exhibition, said that “The fear is that the Muslim Brotherhood will specify what is allowed and what is not allowed in art. The moment you put regulations on art, you kill it.”
The Long Live Free Art movement was inspired by the 1939 Art and Freedom Group’s manifesto, which was created by a group of artists who were fighting censorship all those decades ago. Today, art as a form of resisting censorship and control is just as important as it was then, and the power of the Internet, bloggers, and social media means that word of the protests can spread even more quickly.

The History of Propaganda Posters

Political cartoons and propaganda posters have been commonplace since the 19th century. Many newspapers used political cartoons as a way to express the publisher’s opinions about whatever the hot issue of the day was, and propaganda is simply an extension of that, with political parties using illustrations to increase awareness of their agenda.

One of the earliest, widely recognized political great cartoons is Benjamin Franklin’s “Join or Die” image, which dates back to 1754. This cartoon used the metaphor of a snake to describe the need for unity – the states must join together, or die.
Franklin_join_or_die
It wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th century that artists started to produce the kind of political commentary cartoons and propaganda pictures that we are so familiar with today. This cartoon, published in The World in 1915 during World War I, shows “British Lion” and John Bull crying as they look at a paper detailing the American Protest. American cargo ships are docked in the harbour behind them. The caption, Hurting their Feelings, provides a cutting commentary on the events of the time.

Old British propaganda poster

Old British propaganda poster

During World War II, color propaganda illustrations and posters were popular, and cartoons were slightly more risque and daring. This American propaganda poster depicts an embarrassed Adolf Hitler wearing Swastika-covered boxers, surrounded by destroyed Panzer tanks. The pun, “catching him with his Panzers down” is quite simplistic, but it is an eye catching poster that did the job well.

World War 2 propaganda poster

World War 2 propaganda poster


We are fortunate enough to live in a time where propaganda posters are no longer needed, and artists have a lot more freedom to speak about their political opinions. Cartoons are still used for public health awareness, however, and propaganda posters such as the British “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters, or similar parodies with modern slogans, are popular retro decorative items.