His first work was done in 1966.[2] It was a reaction to France's Nuclear Strike Force.[2] In 1971, he exhibited posters depicting scenes from the Commune.[3] In 1978–1979, his posters of Arthur Rimbaud could be seen all over France.[4] In 1988–1990, he made drawings of Naples.[5] In 1996, he initiated the collection of international artwork called Art Against Apartheid alongside Antonio Saura.[6]
Pignon-Ernest joined the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), one of the main labour unions in France.[8] With Henri Cueco, he co-founded the Syndicat national des artistes plasticiens CGT.[8]
^Deborah Bright, The passionate camera: photography and bodies of desire, Routledge, 1998, p. 180 [1]
^ abCedar Lewisohn, Street art: the graffiti revolution, Tate, 2008, p. 69
^Bertrand Tillier, 'Les corps piétinés de la Commune: figures de la provocation chez Ernest Pignon-Ernest', in La provocation: une dimension de l'art contemporain (XIXe-XXe siècles), Éric Darragon (ed.), Marianne Jakobi (ed.), Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 2004, p. 301 [2]
^Wallace Fowlie (ed.), Seth Adam Whidden (ed.), Rimbaud: complete works, selected letters : a bilingual edition, Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 2005, p. xxi
^Sophie Perryer, 10 years 100 artists: art in a democratic South Africa, Struik, 2004, p. 433 [4]
^"Attica". Center for the Study of Political Graphics. 1 October 2016.
^ ab"Le peintre Henri Cueco est mort". Libération. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2019. Engagé politiquement à gauche, il aura aussi créé le Syndicat national des artistes plasticiens CGT avec Ernest Pignon-Ernest.