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MATCHIBAKO: JAPANESE MATCHBOX ART OF THE 20s AND 30s
by Maggie Kinser Hohle

This book approaches both the converging and the diverging of two very different cultures found in Japan in the 1920s and ’30s—the modern and liberated society with the traditional Japanese one. At the time, Japan was becoming quickly industrialized, and had just been introduced to democracy. Western and European styles were becoming all the rage. Flappers with close-cropped hair and shorter skirts could be seen in the same establishment as women in kimonos. Western-style coffeehouses could be found next door to sushi bars.

This cultural paradox was skillfully illustrated in matchbox art of the day—designs unfettered by the incongruity of modern democracy, communism, and tradition. Although this collector’s book may seem innocent, and it is interesting enough simply by its graphic design aspect, it packs a powerful cultural and historical punch that will be sure to incite conversation.
$12.95, hardcover (casebound), 64 pages, Mark Batty Publisher

GRAPHIC AGITATION 2: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL GRAPHICS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
by Liz McQuiston

Following the success of the 1993 Graphic Agitation, McQuiston’s newly released Graphic Agitation 2 explores the same subject of activism in the graphic arts, but reflecting more on how graphic protest has been affected by the digital revolution. Beginning with notable graphic design of the 1990s, the author argues that even non-digital media has been influenced by changes in technology during that decade. She includes examples of graphic agitation from well-known professionals, as well as from unknown activists off the street.

Shocking design works protest topics from war to globalization to women’s objectivism, and increase awareness of environmental issues, disease prevention, animal rights, grassroots organizations, and more. The latest digital media is covered alongside more traditional methods, and each piece is accompanied by insightful text and explanatory captions.

The book begins with a review of protest graphics from the ’60s through the ’80s, then the main part of the book is divided into the following chapters: “The New Global Protest—Ecowars and resistance to capitalism”; “Satire, Subversion, Subvertising —Striking at corporations, lampooning politicians”; “Perceptions of War—The Gulf, Bosnia, Kosovo, and beyond”; and “Fighting for Human Rights—Identities, attitudes, and social survival.” Graphic Agitation 2 is loaded with colorful graphics that have shocked, united, and divided society.
$69.95, hardcover, 240 pages, Phaidon Press