Socialists Don't Believe in Royalties

The cool thing about Chinese propaganda posters is they were almost always painted by an artist listed as "unknown" and they're done for a foreign communist government, so you're free to abuse the often stunning artwork without fear of legal reprisal and those pesky Cease and Desist letters. As noted on the website where I lifted these fine images:

"The designers/artists of the posters were employees of the art academies, museums, or publishers. During the high tide of socialism, it was seen as counterrevolutionary to exercise personal claims to the copyrights over the works. It would be safe to consider the academies, etc., as the copyright holders. Now, in our experience, these institutions do not exercise their copyrights for materials published in the period 1949-mid-1980s. With the Chinese adoption of the ISBN-system, all this has changed, of course." 

Some of the original wording on these is great stuff, like "Resolutely cut off the bloody and criminal hand of the American aggressor that spreads germs!" from 1952. Or this gem from 1950: "Family members, relatives and friends of criminal secret agents, you must supervise and urge criminals to register and turn over a new leaf!" And apparently there was a campaign to murder all the sparrows, which they did, only to be plagued by bed bugs.

So until the Chinese are your overlords and they put all of us who work in "the arts" either to death or to work in the propaganda sweatshops*, feel free to use these in your campaigns. (See what some have done here.)



* You think your Creative Director is a dick? Wait'll they're telling you EXACTLY what to design and write.

A Holiday IM with Macy's

So, Macy’s, what’s with the red star?
Our founder, Rowland Hussey Macy, had a red star tattooed on his hand as a 15 year old boy. He was a sailor, and sailors like tattoos. The red star is a symbol of success. It has been our corporate symbol since 1858.
It was also the symbol of Soviet-era communism.
It was our symbol first.
One of the earlier terrorist groups, the Red Army Faction of West Germany, used the red star as their symbol.
It was our symbol first.
Labor Day is a big deal with Macy’s.
Yes. It always has been.
You mean it always has been since maybe around the time of the Russian Revolution?
What are you getting at?
Labor Day is all about socialism.
No. It’s about honoring America’s workers.
OK. I’ll give you that one. Still.
What?
Your new ads for your Labor Day Sale.
Yes?
Is it coincidence that you have red, white and blue debris falling from the sky and being trampled underfoot by the red star of Socialism?
Very astute. Must be one of those tattooed, leftist designers. I'll have a word with our ad people.
Good luck with that, and thanks for your time. God Bless America.
Indeed. Long may she wave.

If you believe this IM conversation actually took place, please, as a good US American, send some maps to South Africa and the Iraz, such as.