Originating from a blog post in Adbusters magazine the opening banner was suitably simple, reflecting the author’s blunt demand for the immediate "ending [of] the influence money has over our representatives in Washington."Adbusters
Originating from a blog post in Adbusters magazine the opening banner was suitably simple, reflecting the author’s blunt demand for the immediate "ending [of] the influence money has over our representatives in Washington."AdbustersFrom the movement’s opening post in Adbusters’ right up to its recent Occupy Christmas campaign, the Occupy has consistently listed the the Arab Spring and Spain's Democracia real YA platform as key influences. In keeping with its origins, as well as the Arab Spring as a whole, this poster celebrates the activities of protesters such as Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi broadcast journalist who famously threw his shoes at then-U.S. president George W. Bush during a Baghdad press conference back in 2008.AdbustersAlmost immediately after Adbusters’ announced Occupy Wall Street the Anonymous collective took notice publicly voicing its support for the movement. Reiterating Adbusters' post, Anonymous issued a video on its AnonOps Web site citing a series of undisclosed actions perpetrated by "corrupt" governments and corporations as its motivation for the sit-in. "Anonymous will flood into lower Manhattan, set up tents, put up peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street for a few months. Once there we shall incessantly repeat one simple demand in a plurality of voices; we want freedom," said the Anonymous video's computerised voice. Following the protest’s start the collective has continued its support both on the ground and online. As well as the obvious presence of Anons -- members of the collective -- at the protests, Anonymous’ AnonOps website has continually reported alleged incidents of police violence and remains one of the movement’s key information sources. This poster was one of the first issued by Anonymous voicing its support for the Occupy movement. It was subsequently printed and used on Adbusters’ website on several occasions.AnonOpsA massive turning point often attributed as a key moment that turned Occupy from an American phenomenon into a global movement, occurred mid-way through October when Occupy Wall Street and the host of groups associated with it, put out a global call-to-arms asking all like-minded individuals to join it on 15 October. After the call, a second wave of Occupy protests sprung up across Europe. This poster was subsequently used by the movements London cell to call for other UK cities to follow suit and begin their own protests.occupylondon.org.uk/As well as the sit-in-protests themselves, Occupy protesters have continued to organise follow-up events and campaigns. A particular good example of this was Occupy Oakland’s General Strike. Having taken place on 2 November after being agreed upon by the movement’s general assembly -- the body that coordinates the movement’s actions via weekly votes -- the strike was interesting in that it allowed people unable to join the protest to voice their support.http://occupywallst.org/Since the Occupy movement gained momentum, there have been continuing reports of police attempting to forcibly evict the protesters from their campsites. Yet, despite the police’s best efforts the Occupy movement has survived the evictions, with several of the protesters re-occupying their old campsites, or moving on to new ones. The movement’s main web site subsequently posted a message, claiming it would remain defiant in the face of police force’s attempts to forcibly evict protesters. “To the 1%'s pundits who claim Occupy is over: We are still here. Even as the agents of the 1% evict our communities and eviscerate our rights, we are evolving. What we have set in motion cannot be stopped with tear gas, bulldozers, rubber bullets, or metal barricades,” read Occupy Wall Street’s statement. Later continuing: “Occupations across the country have found creative ways to persist, resist, and rebuild. We aren't giving up our public spaces.” Since the statement went live the Occupy movement’s initial occupywallst.org website published this poster, calling for a second wave of protests.http://occupywallst.org/
With the body of Occupy protests being made up of numerous groups and individuals, each with their own demands and motives, the International Business Times UK takes a look at the diverse range of artwork to stem from the movement.
Stemming from Adbusters magazine, the Occupy movement has always had a host of artists, within its ranks. As a result, beginning with the opening poster, a simple affair containing little more than the movement's mission statement, the intricacy of the movements promotional artwork has grown with the protest.
The gallery contained within chronicles this evolution taking you through a chronological history of the movement as shown through the medium of art.
