Peter Kennard

Join us for the book launch of Visual Dissent by Peter Kennard, published by Pluto Presss.

Peter will discussing his contribution to political art as one of Britain’s foremost political artists over the last fifty years, followed by a Q+A & Book signing.

From Constable’s Haywain with cruise missiles, to Tony Blair’s Iraq War selfie, Peter Kennard has spent 50 years creating uncompromising and hard-hitting protest art. This fully illustrated anthology collects some of his most iconic work.

1968’s revolutionary spirit was a catalyst for Kennard, forcing himto abandon painting in pursuit of a more egalitarian artform; hisdiscovery of photomontage provided an artform through which hecould communicate urgent political messages. Year by year, thisbook exhibits Kennard’s fight against war, nuclear armament andthe corruption of government and big business, through imagesthat have come to define modern protest.

Alongside the images are Kennard’s recollections of the history of social movements, protests and activism depicted, as well as details on the genesis of the images and the techniques employed. This collection emphasises the extraordinary contribution Kennard has made to art and politics in the twenty-first century.

Peter Kennard is Professor of Political Art at the Royal College of Art. He is the author of Images for End of Century: PhotomontagesEquations (Pluto, 1999). Since then, he has published numerous art monographs, and contributed his visuals to publications,magazines and news stories in the press.