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Poster Exhibition Marks 60th Anniversary of Human Rights

Equality is freedom 2008 Design by Ani Gevorgian for Designmatters at Art Center College of Design

What do young artists think about human rights? How does the next generation address issues of freedom? These and other questions are explored in a provocative 25-poster exhibition called Human Rights: Student Voices which makes its U.S. debut in the Great Hall at the Pasadena Central Library, Wednesday, December 10 through January 4, 2009. The exhibition and accompanying panel discussion on Thursday, December 11, are free and open to the public.

Organized by Art Center College of Design and sponsored by France Los Angeles Exchange (FLAX), this powerful show premiered this summer at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. It was designed to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in Paris in 1948.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights arose out of the tragedies of the Second World War and is modeled on the U.S. Constitution. Co-written by Eleanor Roosevelt among others, it represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled and has been adopted as a model for state charters around the world.

A child is not a soldier. 2008 Design by Christopher Kosek for Designmatters at Art Center College of Design

Taking such often-ignored declarations as "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude" (article 4), "No one shall be subjected to torture" (article 5) or "Everyone has the right to education" (article 26), Art Center College of Design students were challenged to dissect and represent these assertions through powerful visual images.

Sample works include Sweatshop Sally, a poster by student Sharon Levy, who adopts the commercial language of product packaging with a display of a child's doll and sewing machine under the advertising slogan "Collect them all! Over 240 Million Child Laborers World Wide!!" Christopher Cosek deals with the phenomenon of child warriors on a poster that depicts a soldier, hand drawn as if by an infant, with the notation "An estimated 300,000 children serve as soldiers worldwide. Some are as young as 8 years old." A panel of skin tones by Cindy Chen, laid out like paint chips and demonstrating a broad range of skin colors and textures, addresses article 2, "Rights and freedoms for everyone without distinction."

Sweatshop Sally. 2008 Design by Sharon Levy for Designmatters at Art Center College of Design

The exhibition is supplemented by a panel discussion on Thursday, December 11, 7:00-8:30 PM, in the Donald Wright Auditorium at the Pasadena Central Library. Called Human Rights and Us: Getting the Message Out, panelists include David Kaye, Executive Director of the UCLA School of Law International Human Rights Program; Alison Dundes Renteln, Professor of Political Science and Anthropology at the University of Southern California; and Martha Rich and Esther Watson, faculty in the Illustration department at Art Center College of Design whose students produced the Images for Human Rights exhibition. The panel will be moderated by Erica Clark, Art Center's Senior Vice President of International Initiatives and Designmatters co-founder.

Human Rights: Student Voices was developed by a multi-disciplinary team of Art Center students in the Illustration Department and is presented by Designmatters, Art Center's social and humanitarian educational initiative. The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of France Los Angeles Exchange (FLAX), a Los Angeles-based cultural organization dedicated fostering a better understanding of France through public art events that promote cross-cultural learning, as well as with assistance from French Cultural Services in Los Angeles .

For further information on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, please visit www.knowyourrights2008.org. To know more about Designmatters at Art Center College of Design, please visit www.accd-dm.org. For information on FLAX’s cultural programming, please visit www.flaxfoundation.org.