What Cuban poster artists did in the 1960s and 1970s was not just a random, lucky occurrence. It was a prime example of a complex process that involves referencing and appropriating visual material from the past — a complex process still employed today.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez debuted at her very first Met Gala sporting a beautiful off-the-shoulder white dress, “TAX THE RICH” scrawled in red grunge lettering on the back. The irony did not go unnoticed. On the surface, it is a simple phrase meant to call out the unfair taxation rates across different economic classes. But within the context of the gala, her message came across as a crass attempt at “woke” activism.