Art as protest takes many forms, from public art installations and underground zines to parody — all created to make sense of the world and share a message.
And then there are protest signs.
Arzu Ozkal, a professor of graphic design at San Diego State University, says protest signs are public, visual manifestations of real-time dissent.
"Those signs, I see them as journal entries, almost. You have our secrets, our own personal narratives in pages of a journal. I feel like all those protest signs are creating this messy narrative for the power structures, who are being very careful about mediating one version of this story," Ozkal said. "Those are like doodles and little notes that we would take in our notebooks, in our sketchbooks, in our journals about what is going on. So those are all like journal pages of the United States right now. They're so personal. They're quick. They're witty, also serious. Everybody is an artist."
The issues may have changed, but the urgency to respond through art is nothing new. The origins of art as a profession — and as subversion — are deeply connected to systems of power.
"The money was with the church and with the power structures, the kings and queens and whatever. So they would pay the artists to promote their propaganda. And then we see other people who were opposed to these propagandas and use their own skills and their own art to create the subversive narrative," Ozkal said.
In the early 20th century, the Dada movement was known for its use of disruption, satire and collage — cutting and pasting found texts, photos and other printed material into art.
Ozkal said that the Dadaist collages ultimately led to the rise of underground publishing and zines as a cheap and accessible tool of expression, organization and disruption in the face of oppression or suppression of speech.
"Zines are underground publishing, basically. So whenever we are not allowed to say what we want to say, humanity finds ways — subversive ways — to communicate. Because we have the urge to communicate, the need to communicate. We seek help, support. We want to build community," Ozkal said.
In history — and today — people create art to serve and challenge power.
Familiar imagery and design can inform protest art — like Tijuana artist Marcos Ramírez ERRE's "Toy-an-Horse Toy an Horse," a replica of a Trojan Horse installed at the United States-Mexico border. Or local artist Philip Brun Del Re's street signs, modified from "No Parking" to "No Kings." Installation and textile artist Michelle Monjoy draws on traditional media like embroidery to disrupt the familiar with political messages. Even flags or the emblematic red MAGA hat elicit a political message through visual design.
Ozkal said art is not only an effective way to express opinions and dissent, but it's also a way for the public to process and understand the world around them — not just in visual mediums, but also music, literature and performance.
She pointed to local composer Joseph Waters' opera, "El Colibrí Mágico (The Magic Hummingbird)," about migrants crossing the border.
"You read about those incidents in the paper — monthly, daily. But seeing it in that (opera) form, I was crying most of the time. It was just powerful. So artists have a way to say the same thing in a way that it's so emotional and so powerful, and it just clicks differently," she said.
Artist Paola Villaseñor, known as Panca, posted a "rage doodle" on her social media shortly after the string of immigration raids in San Diego and Los Angeles, based on photographs circulating online.
On Saturday, local artist Cindy Zimmerman's "Mobile Monument" goes on view at the downtown library in an exhibit with the collective Feminist Image Group.
The sculptural installation displays and broadcasts 300 words removed from government websites earlier this year.
"Monuments are usually erected by city officials. They represent one way of history they see as truth. So it's brilliant that somebody else uses — that Cindy uses — this as a way to challenge that narrative," Ozkal said of the project.
It could take months or years before museums and traditional art spaces showcase more works responding to the current moment. Until then, there are always protest signs.
"Whenever there is repression, when there's cancellation of these voices, we will see people protesting, resisting, reacting, wanting to be present," Ozkal said.
