Explore the Era

Delve into the postwar Los Angeles art world in this online archive, which provides additional material related to the exhibitions on view at the Getty Center. Learn about hipsters and happenings, and the venues across the city where all the action took place through images from the archives and first-hand accounts with the artists.

From the Archive

Susan Sontag at the Peace Tower installation

Susan Sontag at the Peace Tower installation in Los Angeles, February 26, 1966. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11. Photo by and © Annette Del Zoppo

The Peace Tower, an enduring symbol of artistic activism, was inaugurated on February 26, 1966. Ceremonies at the tower featured speeches by Susan Sontag, whose Against Interpretation had appeared the year before; ex-Green Beret Donald Duncan; and Irving Petlin, an organizer of the Artists Protest Committee, who sponsored the tower. During the three months the tower was up, it had to be constantly defended against vandalism.

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Exhibition audio: More about the Peace Tower from artists and curator John Tain

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Explore the Archive

  • Video: Art of Protest—Artist Suzanne Lacy

    Video: Art of Protest—Artist Suzanne Lacy discusses the connection between art and activism

  • Video: Video: Charles Brittin speaks about the Peace Tower

    Video: Charles Brittin speaks about the Peace Tower (Artist's Tower of Protest, 1966), November 2006

  • Artists’ protest poster

    Artists’ protest poster and manifesto, "Stop: We Dissent," 1965. Designed by Hardy Hanson. Courtesy of the artist. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.30

  • Panels at the Peace Tower

    Four young women looking at panels at the Peace Tower installation in Los Angeles, February 1966. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin

  • Peace Tower installation

    Peace Tower installation in Los Angeles, 1966. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.37. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin

  • “Artists Against Escalation” protest

    “Artists Against Escalation” protest at LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), May 16, 1965. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.32. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin

  • Protest outside Ferus Gallery

    Protest on La Cienega Boulevard, outside the Ferus Gallery, May 15, 1965. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Photo by Charles Brittin

  • Poster for the “Angry Arts” Against the War Peace Walk

    Poster for the “Angry Arts” Against the War Peace Walk, 1967. Designed by Hardy Hanson. Courtesy of the artist. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.31