Without regard to hierarchies of high versus low culture, Ricky Yanas will present a loose chronology of propaganda’s deployment in service of centers of power and its negation/ appropriation by artists and counter-cultural movements. Comprising important innovations and landmark campaigns including Virgil’s Aeneid (19 BC), the origin of the term “public relations” (1919),”bacon and eggs” (1924), Ivory soap sculptures (1923), etc., as well as interventions by groups like Situationist International (1957-1972), The Black Panther Party (1966-1982), and Act Up (1987-2000), this session will consider the craft of myth-making and cultural production as one of the most important art forms of the 20th Century.

RICKY YANAS is a Texas born artist, educator, and curator living in Philadelphia, PA. Working within a pragmatic tradition of problem finding, Yanas aims to create intersectional spaces of inquiry and mutual engagement through art making and art thinking. Recent projects include Extension or Communication: Puerto Rico at Tiger Strikes Asteroid Gallery Philadelphia and Taller Puertorriqueño & The Green Sun, a collaboration with artist Kristen Neville Taylor considering solar power and its practical and narrative possibilities in envisioning a more equitable world. In 2016, Yanas founded Ulises Books with Nerissa Cooney, Lauren Downing, Joel Evey, Kayla Romberger, and Gee Wesley.

Extra Credit is organized by the Public Engagement Department at the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania. Public Engagement is supported by the Bernstein Public Engagement Fund.