Compelling Graphics: Art of The Black Panther Periodicals

Talk about striking imagery. The bold, in-your-face graphics of The Black Panther publication from the late 1960s and early 1970s is hard not to notice. I’m a big fan of the Rubylith masked photos combined with splashes of color - especially the gradient on the first image. These periodicals have a punk DIY aesthetic to them that is unmistakably renegade in nature. This style conjures revolutionary posters of Che, early punk rock DIY, and OBEY propaganda. OBEY might be the closest thing we have to this subversive mix of art and politics at this point. At least in the mainstream - I can’t speak to the underground. There’s always an underground art and or political movement on horizon. I haven’t actually read one of these documents, so I can’t speak to that. But as a designer and artist, I am drawn to the bold cover art. The artist Emory Douglas’ signature is on the last image. His work is very graphic and hits on all cylinders. I’ll post some of his work soon.