In 2024, democracy is at a threshold as more than half of the world’s population heads to the polls—4.2 billion citizens across approximately 65 countries. Of the 43 countries expected to hold free and fair elections, 28 do not actually meet the essential conditions for a democratic vote, according to the Democracy Index from the Economist’s Intelligence Unit. Eight of the 10 most populous countries in the world, including India, Mexico, and the U.S., are grappling with the challenge of ensuring voter participation, free speech, and electoral independence while authoritarianism is on the rise.
Regardless of political party, we as a nation need to respect free and fair elections and accept the outcome, whether our preferred party wins or loses. Democracy isn’t about one person or political party. Democracy means rule of the people, not rule of kings, not rule of the wealthy, not rule of corporations. Political participation from citizens is a core part of democracy, and even though 66 percent of eligible voters turned out to vote in 2020, this election is even more important than the last. I know we are tired of hearing it said, but this truly could be our last election. This November, the United States of America must choose between fascism and democracy.
Indivisible 2024 is an exploration of our fragile democracy, the policy issues that unite and divide us, the principles on which democracy was founded, and the urgency of our current political dilemma. Reproductive rights, immigration, the climate crisis, gun violence, healthcare, equality, justice, civil rights, and freedom of expression are some of the themes in this exhibit. Each artist represented brings their unique perspective and voice to these issues and acts as a positive catalyst for civil discourse through their art. Through the power of art, this exhibition will encourage active engagement in our democracy during the 2024 election cycle and beyond by creating a space for public dialogue and engagement.
A live presentation of Indivisible 2024 ran from Sept. 11 through Oct. 3, 2024, at The Artists Gallery (TAG), an artist-founded and operated non-profit gallery in Los Angeles.
View Indivisible 2024, then scroll down for details about the artists and their work.
Artists From the Center for the Study of Political Graphics
The Center for the Study of Political Graphics (CSPG) is an educational and research archive that collects, preserves, documents, and exhibits posters relating to historical and contemporary movements for social change. Artists from the CSPG collection featured in Indivisible 2024 include American conceptual artist and collagist Barbara Kruger; Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous group of feminist female artists devoted to fighting sexism and racism within the art world; mixed-media artist Barbara Carrasco, who created flyers and banners for the United Farm Workers of America; Los Angeles-based multimedia artist Guillermo Bert; and American-born Chicano poster artist Malaquías Montoya. The exhibition also includes work associated with The Woman's Building, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit arts and education center spearheaded by Judy Chicago that focused on feminist art, and The Pro-Choice Public Education Project, which is dedicated to engaging young women on the critical issue of reproductive freedom.
Artists From Buddha Cat Press
Buddha Cat Press is a socially conscious fine art print shop founded and operated by Karen Fiorito. In addition to creating and selling their own prints, they give workshops and publish fine art prints with visual artists of all kinds. Artists from Buddha Cat Press featured in Indivisible 2024 include Robbie Conal, one of the country’s foremost satirical street poster artists; visual artist, musician, and writer Gee Vaucher, whose work with the anarchist punk band Crass was seminal to the protest art of the 1980s; and Winston Smith, a punk surrealist montage artist and designer best known for creating the Dead Kennedys iconic logo and album artwork. Founder Karen Fiorito is notable for her controversial “Trumpocalypse” billboard in downtown Phoenix, which gained international media attention in 2017. Her prints are in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the U.S. Forest Service, the Center for the Study of Political Graphics, and Self Help Graphics.
Activist Artists From the Los Angeles Area
Indivisible 2024 includes some of the most exciting political artists who’ve lived or worked in the Los Angeles area. Bill Jaros, Nguyen Ly, and Bill Faecke’s collaborative sculpture “Totem,” featuring portraits of incendiary political figures, served as one of the anchorpoints for the gallery exhibition. The Qwiett, a mixed-media assemblage artist and self-described “denizen of Goodwill,” looks to the Italian Arte Povera movement for inspiration. German-born multidisciplinary artist and activist Lilli Muller, based in Venice, Italy, embarked on her distinct feminist trajectory after a life-changing mentorship with Louise Bourgeois. Wendy Murray collaborated with ceramicist Louise Hyatt to translate her wry political drawings to hand-painted porcelain. Street photographer Joshua Wattles’ frenzied portrait of a Trump supporter on Hollywood Boulevard before the 2016 presidential election serves as a lasting commentary on a fractured America.
Featured Political Posters and Prints
Marianne Sadowski’s mixed-media works on paper combine images of palm trees and guns with makeshift shelters and tents of people living on the streets to illustrate a city that’s failed to address the homelessness crisis and the ongoing threat of gun-related violence. Printmaker Curtis Barton blends images of animals and nature with politically charged architectural landscapes to explore the delicate crossroads between civilization and the wild, despair and hope. Nguyen Ly conveys the chaos of political power struggles through chilling psychological portraits of “people in charge.” Los Angeles street artist Wendy Murray uses daily drawings, printmaking, letterpress, and public artworks to tackle climate change, the population explosion, growing income disparity, and other social and political concerns.
This piece has been modified from the original to fit NOT REAL ART publishing guidelines. Original copy by Karen Fiorito. Edits and additional copy by Kirsten Bengtson-Lydoukis.
All photos published with permission of the artist(s); featured graphics for Indivisible 2024 by David Schwartz.