John Leavitt No. 44
March 2019

Reds of Future Past

© John Leavitt
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At the top of the image, the following text: “Examples of items seized or restricted from the U.S. Mail during WWI under the Espionage Act.” Underneath, various illustrated figures of the following text: “Fig. 1, Anti-war slogans, logos, or publications”; “Fig. 2, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) images, notably 'The Man Behind the Bars!’”; “Fig. 3, Communist or anti-capitalist postcards & pamphlets, including suffrage material related to The Socialist Party of America”; “Fig. 4, While not directly banned, radical and anti-war publications like The Masses and Mother Earth had their ‘second class’ postage privileges revoked, effectively denying them wide distribution.”

On the left, above a watercolor painting of two dapper young men at a table, the following text: “'Homosexuality is Stalin’s Atom bomb to destroy America.’ — Arthur Guy Matthews 1953”On the right, above a water color of two young men with their fists raised, the following text: “'In the land where the proletariat governs manfully and successfully, homosexuality with its corrupting effect on the young is considered a social crime punishable under the law.’ — Maxim Gorky, 1934”

Above and around a watercolor portrait of a human figure, their face obscured by roses, the text: "'To translate political ideas into pictures is useful to illustrate party posters, but it does not follow that the only valid role for the artist is the paint pictures exclusively confined to the class struggle, nor that the workers should be denied the pleasure of seeing pictures which would enrich their consciousness in quite a different way from the way this is done through class consciousness.’ — Rene Magritte"

A billboard, at right, reads: “Second Bill of Rights: Every American has a right to: 1. A job 2. An adequate wage & decent living 3. A decent home 4. Medical care 5. Economic protection during sickness, accident, old age, or unemployment 6. A good education.” Two besuited men prepare to plaster over it billboard with a sign reading: “Free Market Solutions.”

 

John Leavitt is a writer and artist. He lives in New York City.

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