Freedom for the Arts: Torchlight Parade April 22, 1964

New York: Committee for Freedom of the Arts, 1964. Mimeograph. 8 1/2 x 11 in. Very good. Item #5683

Remarkably illustrated flyer promoting a demonstration against a myriad of government attacks on the arts in New York and across the United States in the mid 1960’s.

Events and topics affecting the arts community the march is protesting are listed on the flyer and include the censorship of books, films, and art works on charges of obscenity, the harassment of Lenny Bruce, city zoning against loft living, federal seizure of the Living Theatre, closing of off-Broadway theatres by city licensing departments, and the harassment of various artists’ establishments and hangouts including coffee shops and loft theaters by police and fire departments.

Illustrated - in style remarkably similar to George Herm’s cover of Floating Bear No. 29 - with a silenced and naked Lady Liberty stomping on the city and silencing a cherub, the message is clear: Freedom for the Arts.

Sold