This was a protest against the 1999 NATO bombing of the former Yugoslavia. In no way did this intend to demonstrate support for Serbian actions. Principally, it was a protest to the use of war or violence as a means for establishing peace, and, secondly, an opposition to the lack of true/complete research and biased one-sidedness of the media.
Many front page declarations included only in small print the word “alleged.” This overall deficiency in critical thinking and blinded support for the government by our (US, also UK) news agencies was horrifying, for that is the essence of a true dictatorship. What is freedom without discussion and debate?
The quote posters, placed (throughout M.I.T.) in eye-catching large amounts or located within small personal spaces, were based on reports from other international news organizations (mostly Eastern Europe, Germany, France, and some US/UK) and from people at the war site. They were printed in blue to symbolize peace or peaceful things, like the blue sky. Their design underwent several iterations (scroll to the right).
F. Albeanu, A. Alessi and A. Kojic helped out with the project.
“Well, my friend, your posters made it to Serbia and are being sent around there! How’s that for public art?!”
“So I thought to make a T-shirt that has the quotes of ‘we do not target civilians’ on one side and the ‘1,200 civilians killed by NATO bombs’ on the other.”
“Report: 1:30 am......lobby 7, building 3, building 5.......all of them are standing........people are noticing. Will see if this carries out thru the night.”
Our guerilla-tactic-postering of the campus at night gave us the satisfaction that, in a cost-effective way, we were somehow fighting back our opposition, the media, by informing the public. The posters presented the public with other news/propaganda, information to which they did not readily have access (translated from several international newspapers & obtained from people at the scene).
The posters went through several “design” iterations before finally being reduced to just the necessary: the quotes/our news. See previous versions to the right.
