Category: all

A Sticker A Day #1

I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but I plan to start posting a sticker a day for as long as I can, though I’m not going to get too worked up if I miss a day or two here or there.  Some people say I should use Tumblr to do this, but it seems to add another layer to the Stickerkitty blog.  Anything a day helps keep one in the present moment, I think.  Very Zen.  I have noticed on several occasions that while collecting stickers, walking the streets, following the sticker path, I feel most “in the…

Ottawa sticker in time for the holidays

Political stickers are fairly rare in Canada’s capital city of Ottawa, but I found this one today in the downtown Byward Market about a minute after stepping onto the street.  The Web site listed on the sticker leads to a pretty well-researched Top Ten list of [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper’s Crimes Against Humanity, including: Blocking Progress in the Fight Against Climate Change, Promoting Endless War, Helping Canadian Mining Companies Destroy the Earth, Lying about the War in Afghanistan, and others.  There is plenty to write about Stephen Harper and his party’s conservative policies, but some that are most discouraging are…

U.S. “Night Raiders” protest stickers

I recently acquired over 100 U.S. political stickers from the 1960s and ‘70s protesting the Vietnam War and U.S. imperialism, and calling for racial equality among blacks and whites.  The stickers were in their original envelope from a J. S. Kennard, Jr., 26 Winant Road, New Brunswick, NJ, 08824.  Underneath the return mailing label is rubber-stamped “PEACE PRODUCTS, Dr. J. S. Kennard, Manager.”  Underneath that is a gummed yellow sticker label with a quote that states, “If we could keep our dirty, bloody, dollar-crooked fingers out of the business of these nations, they will arrive at a solution of their…

Catalonia stickers from 1970s-80s and stickers from Madrid, summer 2012

Oli Baudach at Hatch Kingdom (Berlin) gave me a rare and very special collection of political street art stickers from Catalonia dating from the late 1970s and early ’80s.  Oli is originally from Barcelona.  A friend of his father’s gave them to Oli, and Oli in turn shared some with me.  From what Oli told me, many of these stickers were put up in public places to protest the Franco regime, and doing such a thing at the time could cost one dearly.  I’ll be working with Dr. Marina Llorente and one of her Spanish classes at SLU this fall…

Berlin trip 09-12: M99 stickers and others

M99 in Berlin-Kreuzberg had another 40 or more new protest stickers today, which amazes me every time I go there.  I went in late April and picked up a bunch of stickers, and four months later, so many new designs.  If I were to try to categorize, the new stickers are less old school photo-collage and more cartoon-ish and digital, perhaps made in Photoshop or inDesign like the ones in the lower left of the photo below. I also went to Red Stuff around the corner to see their stickers, but unlike last time, they wouldn’t let me take any…

Stickerettes at NYU Tamiment Library

The Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at NYU’s Tamiment Library contains close to 30 original stickerettes, i.e., the “silent agitators” I wrote about in my previous post.  I went down to NYC last week to see them in person and had no idea there would be so many different designs.  From what I’ve been reading, some were used as early as the 1910s, while a later one referred to the fighting in Viet Nam (sic).  I also saw a catalogue for an exhibition entitled “Wobbly” 80 Years of Rebel Art that was held at the Labor Archives and Research Center…

I.W.W. “stickerettes”

After learning recently about S.D.S. stickers (Students for a Democratic Society) in the U.S., I’ve been expanding my collection with a few more examples like these from the 1970s. Online today, I came across something even older – stickers from the early 1910s-1920s that were created for the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W) and used as “silent agitators” or “silent organizers.”  On Facebook, the Labor Archives and Research Center at San Francisco State University features six stickers, which at the time were called “stickerettes,” and writes, “they were easy to anonymously stick on surfaces throughout the job site (including…

May Day in Berlin 2012

I’ve picked up a bunch of stickers for May Day in the last few days, which is one of the reasons I chose to come to Berlin at this time of year (that plus a cheap ticket!).  On Monday, April 30, starting at 2:00 is Das Antikapitalistische Walpurgisnacht, a rally and “Reclaim Da Streets” concert in Wedding.  A march begins at 6:00.  More about the various activities and events can be found here, on the Indymedia Web site here, and SDAJ Berlin Web site here. On May 1, Kreuzburg will hold its annual Labor Day festival with concerts on several…