Art on the Eve of Super Tuesday

Renowned graphic artist and culture jammer Shepard Fairey gets behind Obama.

By: EricW | Feb 4, 2008 |  3

Categories: Culture & Identity, Media & Advertising, Artevist

Since traditional street-style poster art has a lot in common with T-shirt art, it's always great to see the medium still has a place in the world of 5 second sound bites and video streaming. It's also great to see it reemerge in what was once a mainstay of poster art – political campaign ephemera.

Shepard Fairey is one of the more successful and influential American designers of the last decade so his decision to endorse Barack Obama's bid for the Presidency is an interesting addition to what is becoming one of the most fascinating races in decades.

Jeff Beer of Creativity Online interviewed Fairey recently to ask him what was behind his decision to endorse Obama and devote his creative talents to helping his campaign. Read the article.

The poster has been a tremendous success, and the first print runs were quickly exhausted. No doubt more will be produced, but for now you can download a version from Fairey's 'Obey' website.

Seeing this got me wondering if Hillary, Mitt, Mike and John have any great artists and art behind their campaigns. Have they captured the imagination of poster and T-shirt artists in the way Obama has?

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Hey great to see this item since I remember seeing this poster on TV news, but didn’t know anything about it. Guess it was distinct enough that it stuck in my mind, which of course is the whole idea. Now that I know who it’s by… no wonder… his work is fantastic.

By: ChicChick
posted: February 05, 2008 at 11:25 AM

Great design. Think it really captures that nostalgia for the Kennedy years. I could see wearing that as a T-shirt if I were American. Hope he wins!!!

By: DzynGurl
posted: February 05, 2008 at 11:40 AM

If you haven’t seen the “Yes We Can” video by the Black Eyed Peas you should. Here’s one place I found it, but it’s all over the place now:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=reT7jw74eo8

Just more proof I think that no one has been able to mobilize artists like Obama has, and the song kicks ass too!!!

What a breath of fresh air - make that a tornado - after Bush.

By: HagenDaz
posted: February 09, 2008 at 02:12 PM