Produced during the upheavals of May 1968, Capital is an original French protest poster associated with the occupied Faculty of Sciences. It belongs to the remarkable body of political graphics created as student demonstrations developed into a nationwide movement and an unprecedented wave of workers’ strikes.
A clenched fist rises through an explosive red field in which the word Capital appears in roughly formed lettering. The image suggests a force breaking through the established economic order, while the spreading red marks convey urgency, confrontation and revolutionary energy.
Printed in a single red ink on lightweight paper, the poster reflects the deliberately direct production methods of May 1968. Screenprinting allowed designs to be reproduced rapidly and distributed through universities, factories and the streets of Paris. The Fac des Sciences workshop mark remains visible at the lower right.
As with many posters from the movement, the individual designer is unidentified. This anonymity reflected the collective philosophy of the occupied workshops, where images were intended to serve the political struggle rather than promote a particular artist.
With its forceful symbolism, economical palette and documented Faculty of Sciences origin, Capital is a compelling artifact of May 1968. It holds particular interest for collectors of political graphics, French social history, counterculture and twentieth-century protest art.
Original Poster
May 68 - Politics
Fac of Sciences
Good condition, folds
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