What will you do now that you’re 1A 1968

Curator: So, we are looking at a poster by Dietmar Winkler titled, "What will you do now that you're 1A", printed in 1968. It’s quite striking, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely. The mood is so…fraught. The huge “1A” dominating the lower half almost feels like a looming threat, given the historical context. It makes my stomach flip thinking of that moment. Curator: Yes, that immediate post-graduation dread, magnified by the Vietnam War and the draft. The poster is actually an announcement for a Vietnam commencement held at MIT, which, you know, isn't something you'd expect to see advertised. Editor: A Vietnam commencement...a kind of graduation into a world of uncertainty. The designers use of that blown-up number – almost illegible at first – and its blurring effect… I mean, the fuzziness speaks to a sense of clouded futures, of anxieties made almost palpable through form. Curator: And the program details—moderators like Harvey Cox and speakers addressing graduation itself and the draft. Poetry readings. Winkler wasn't just advertising an event. He was orchestrating a conversation around an intense political moment. The sponsorship listed too "ad hoc committee for inquiry into social responsibilities", says so much! Editor: Precisely! The text acts almost as a counterpoint to the visual drama. The questions "Graduation into what?" and "What can you do about the draft?" are deceptively simple but carry incredible weight. They pull you right into the dilemma of the time, made to look so graphic! Curator: In some ways, this is modernism pared down to its bones—text and image merged for immediate impact, and it is conceptual art serving a real need in real-time. Editor: You’re right. Even though it’s from over 50 years ago, the poster continues to pose vital questions about responsibility, purpose, and our role in challenging unjust systems, its graphic strength remains intense! It doesn't shout, but insists you see it! Curator: Absolutely. I wonder what these students went on to do after that "commencement"? How their lives twisted and turned depending on the big old “1A”? That simple phrase makes my mind buzz with the complexities. Editor: Mine, too. This poster embodies that unique and horrible kind of hope and the real uncertainty they must have faced at graduation; I love that juxtaposition of youthful hope meeting potential danger! A bold message.