vallen_nixon_poster.jpg, image/jpeg, 360x295
A feature-length documentary about Los Angeles' Peace Press produced by students in L. A. Valley College¹s Media Arts Dept.'s Directed Studies workshop in conjunction with several Peace Press "alumni" and the Center for the Study of Political Graphics. [ Image: "Evict Nixon" Poster created by artist Mark Vallen in 1971 and published by Peace Press.]
vallen_nixon_poster.jpg, image/jpeg, 360x295
What do Timothy Leary, Huey Newton and Brian Wilson have in common? They were all clients of Los Angeles' Peace Press, an alternative print shop
which produced posters, books and other printed matter from 1967-1987. The Press operated for twenty years, a long time for an art collective, a very long time for an anti-war group, and an extraordinary length of time for a print shop whose founders did not know how to print.
The 95-minute documentary "PatriotS Act...PEACE PRESS" explores how this group of L.A. area activist-artists used the graphic arts as a weapon against the Viet Nam War and subsequently evolved into a business collective that produced high-quality commercial work while continuing to print for
virtually every progressive cause taken up in LA. More than 300 organizations --including the United Farm Workers, Daniel Ellsberg Defense Committee, Black Panther Party, Free Angela Davis Committee, Alliance for Survival, American Indian Movement, Earth Day, the Free Venice Collective, and various groups advocating solidarity with Central America-- had their posters printed at the Press.
Produced over five semesters by advanced students in L. A. Valley College's Media Arts Dept.'s Directed Study Workshop, the film includes interviews of
Peace Press alumni and clients, coverage of the first Peace Press reunion in 2002, the Spring 2005 "Posters of Peace Press" Exhibition, and numerous images of posters, books, bumper-stickers, personal memorabilia, photos, and
home movies from sources coast-to-coast.
"PatriotS Act...PEACE PRESS" had its "world premiere" at the 9th Annual Dances With Films Festival at the Laemmle Theaters last July and has played in several other film festivals across the country.
A Q&A will follow with members of the Crew and several Peace Press alumni and special guests.
*DIRECTIONS: Take the 101 Freeway to Coldwater Canyon Boulevard. Go north on Coldwater to Oxnard Street and turn left. Enter Campus Drive from Oxnard
Street. Park in Lot C, adjacent to the Art Building.
For other info, contact LAVC Media Arts Dept.'s Prof. Joe Daccurso at 818-947-2354.
Original: Free Movie Screening: Peace Press