Poster Design of the Islamic Revolution

Posters as political tools are nothing new. In the Middle East, two revolutionary movements led to some of the most potent and vibrant posters in design history. The Iranian Revolution and the expulsion of Palestinians due to civil war and the continued fight to reclaim Palestinian homelands from Israel. These posters effectively gave voice to the struggles of ordinary people resisting the influence and meddling of various Western powers. For Iran, that meant keeping the dream of an Islamic state free and independent from Western countries that had been trying for decades to install a democratic government. And once so much of Palestine had been taken over by Israel, the Palestinian resistance fought back with ideas as well as guns. Using powerful graphic imagery common to each of their respective cultures, like calligraphy, Islamic iconography, and the colors red, black, white, and green, resistance posters of both movements kept the fire of resistance burning brightly. The Iranian Revolution effectively concluded once the Shah of Iran was overthrown and power consolidated under the rule of Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. Palestine wasn’t so lucky. While their resistance began much earlier than Iran’s, their fight still isn’t over and their resistance posters have continued, spilling over into the digital domain in a continued effort to reclaim their native homeland. TIMELINE1908 – Prince Yusuf Kamal founded the School of Fine Arts in Cairo, Egypt1917 – Britain made Balfour Declaration to establish Palestine as a place for Jewish people1921 – Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq declared independence from Britain1922 – Egypt declared independence from Britain1934 – University of Tehran Founded in Iran1941 – Syria declared independence from France1943 – Lebanon declared independence from France1945 – End of WW II; Britain hands matter of Palestine to the USA1948 – 750,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes due to Israeli takeover1947 – United Nations Partition of Palestine, followed by Civil War in Palestine (Arab-Israeli War)1948 – British completely withdrew from Palestine, and Israeli statehood declared1949 – Syria's president Husni al-Za’im overthrown by a military coup 1950-54 – Designer & Artist Ismail Shammout attends the University of Cairo 1950s – Saqqakhana Group formed 1951 – Libya declared independence from France1952 – Egyptian Monarchy overthrown by Free Officers Coup1953 – USA and UK leaders helped to install Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (overthrew Democratically elected Prime Minister Mossadegh) 1956 – Sudan declares independence from France, Israel attacked Egypt (Six Days War) 1958 – Iraq Monarchy overthrown, Shammout studies in a private graphic design workshop in Berlin, Egypt and Syria form the United Arab Republic1959 – Yasser Arafat founded The Palestinian National Liberation Movement1963 – Algeria declares independence from France1965 – The Peoples Mojahedin Iranian organization was founded at the University of Tehran1967 – Palestine National Liberation Movement joins the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) 1977- Iranian Revolution begins; Mostafa Khomeini, eldest son of Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, dies of an unknown cause at age 47; Protest & violent, repressive response cycles begin in dozens of Iranian cities. 1978 – Cinema Rex Fire in Tehran; 477 Iranians killed in fire. 1978 – Black Friday, where government tanks and helicopters opened fire on 1,000+ protestos in Tehran1979 –  On Jan. 16, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi fled Iran ; On Feb. 1st,  Ayatollah Khomeini started The Islamic Republic of Iran as its leader. 1982 –  PLO expelled from Lebanon, Israeli invasion of Lebanon1988 –  Palestinian Declaration of IndependenceREFERENCESAbedini, R., & Wolbers, H. (2006). New Visual Culture Of Modern Iran. BIS Publishers. Adamova, A. T., & Bayani, M. (2015). Persian Painting: The Arts Of The Book And Portraiture . Thames & Hudson. Bloom, J. M., & Blair, S. S. (2019). Islamic art: Past, present, future. Yale University Press. Charles River Editors. (2014). The Iranian Revolution: The islamic revolution that reshaped the Middle East. CreateSpace. Chelkowski, P. (2002, December 15). GRAPHIC ARTS. Encyclopedia Iranica . Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://iranicaonline.org/articles/graphic-artsEigner, S. (2015). Art of the Middle East: Modern and contemporary art of the Arab world and Iran. Merrell. Fotouhi, S. (2015). The literature of the Iranian diaspora: Meaning and identity since the Islamic Revolution. I.B. Tauris. The genius of Iranian graphic design. Graphéine - Agence de communication Paris Lyon. (2022, February 1). Retrieved February 3, 2022, from https://www.grapheine.com/en/graphic-design-en/graphic-design-in-iran-persian-heritage-and-modernityGuity, N. (2012, January 7). Modern Communication Design in Iran. The History of Graphic Design in Iran. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from http://...