Day Seven, March 31

So far, almost all of my posts on Daily Dose of Hope have focused on Obama's policy (including campaiging/fundraising practices), so tonight I wanted to offer up something slightly different: a work of art. I find the amount of artists, writers, and other creative types getting behind the Obama movement to be, at the risk of playing the 'trite creative type' card, inspiring. Speaking of which, last night I was browsing the barackobama.com online store and came across this image:

The artist that created these screen print is none other than internationally-renowned Shepard Fairey ('Change' poster copyright Shepard Fairey, 2008). I had recognized this style in his 'Hope' poster, and thought that the contrasting colors and central image were reminiscent of Fairey's 'OBEY' prints, but wasn't sure that this was actually done by his hand until I found it on the website. Fairey had this to say regarding the creation of the print:

“I wanted to make an art piece of Barack Obama because I thought an iconic portrait of him could symbolize and amplify the importance of his mission. I believe Obama will guide this country to a future where everyone can thrive and I should support him vigorously for the sake of my two young daughters. I have made art opposing the Iraq war for several years, and making art of Obama, who opposed the war from the start, is like making art for peace. I know I have an audience of young art fans and I’m delighted if I can encourage them to see the merits of Barack Obama.” (Shepard Fairey quote taken from barackobama.com, copyright 2008.)