About this Exhibition

All the essays in the exhibit, Antonym/Synonym, as well as the monograph “Antonym/Synonym: A Broken Language, A Crippled Debate, and the Gift of Art,” were written by myself, Daniel Walsh, of Liberation Graphics. All opinions implied are mine. Any factual errors, omissions, or misstatements, are mine alone. I am solely responsible for its content.

Over the past twenty-five years I have analyzed, translated, and studied thousands of posters related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In the process, I was made aware of the dichotomy between how the conflict, and the people trapped in it, see themselves on the one hand, and how they are portrayed to the American public, on the other. I was also granted an insight into the power of art to liberate and enlighten. Ideally, this exhibit will address some of the existing barriers to the emergence of a healthier public debate on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and will open up more creative and artistic exchanges between the U.S. and all the countries of the Middle East.

In 1999 Liberation Graphics received a Community Arts Grant from the now-defunct Ruth Mott Fund of Flint, Michigan, to digitize its archives of Palestine posters. No other payments of any kind were offered or accepted for the development of this online exhibit.

I am grateful to all the artists whose works make up this exhibit. In particular, I would like to thank the many artists whom I have had the honor to meet or with whom I corresponded with, and who encouraged me to persevere in this project — Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, Danish, English, American, Vietnamese, Dutch, Spanish, and Cuban, as well as many others. I could not have created this exhibit without their generosity and mentoring.

Bringing the posters online
Special thanks are due to editor Catherine Baker of Plain Language Communications, for her tireless efforts to make the writing clear for visitors to the exhibit. A web site is only as good as the writing and Catherine has been instrumental in bringing the text to life.

Peter Krebs, of culturecurrent.com, was responsible for web site design and production. Peter is to be acknowledged for his mastery of the Internet and extreme patience. The best designs are those you do not notice; they just feel right. Peter's solution is simple and elegant. It lets the posters do the talking.

It has been a pleasure to work with so many dedicated artists and professionals. We hope that through our efforts the worldwide discussion will expand.

Daniel Walsh
Liberation Graphics
November 2003
©2003 Liberation Graphics. All Rights Reserved.

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© 2003 Liberation Graphics. All Rights Reserved.