One of the most impressive things about Barack Obama’s campaign has been the level of inspiration he brought out in his supporters. We saw the results of that yesterday in the turnout at the polls, but another area where I’ve been equally impressed is in his effect on the artistic community. Obama supporters have produced some amazing images over the past 9 months, starting first and foremost with underground artist Shepard Fairey’s ubiquitous “Hope” and “Progress” posters, which were originally produced as an independent guerrilla project, but were soon assimilated as official by the Obama campaign. This iconic image spawned numerous alterations, knockoffs and parodies (including a DNC-specific variation by Fairey himself, created for a certain Denver magazine), but one of my favorite remixes combines Obama and David Bowie circa “Aladdin Sane”.
While Fairey’s image was definitely the highest-profile of the campaign, there’s been plenty of creativity to spread around. A huge amount of original artwork was displayed in Denver during the DNC, but this image, produced recently by illustrator Patrick Moberg in honor of President-Elect Obama’s historic victory, is by far my favorite. Simple, yet effective, it truly embodies the old line about a picture being worth 1,000 words.
I, for one, hope that this creative explosion continues throughout President Obama’s entire term, and that he can continue to inspire all Americans, not just the artists, for years to come. (Clearly, my post-election afterglow hasn’t worn off yet. Hope, baby, hope...)
No comments:
Post a Comment