You may not know his name but we're all very familiar with Shepard Fairey's work.
The American contemporary street artist is not only the founder of OBEY Clothing but is also an activist who became widely known during the 2008 US Presidential Election for his Barack Obama “Hope” poster.
Now, the graphic designer/illustrator is back with another street art campaign called “We the People” for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. But here’s the catch, none of the artwork will feature the new president’s face. Instead, Shepard has created three very specific portraits for the campaign along with Colombian-American muralist Jessica Sabogal and Chicano graphic artist Ernesto Yerena.
Photo: Kickstarter
Shepard Fairey held a phone interview with PBS NewsHour to discuss the idea behind the campaign.
“All the subjects [in 'We the People'] were photographed by people who relate to them somehow. The Muslim woman was shot by Ridwan Adhami, who is an accomplished photographer and proud Muslim, the Latina woman was shot by Arlene Mejorado, a San Antonio- based artist and photographer and proud first-generation American, and the African-American kid was shot by Delphine Diallo, a French and Senegalese photographer based in New York. We realized that this has got to be a diverse coalition of artists for us to do this and that while it’s good for us to be allies, this campaign really has to be authentically diverse…We want to allow people to express all their social/political views around a number of issues — LGBT rights, women’s rights — because a number of those things are going to be under attack under Trump.”
After learning that large-sized signs were prohibited at the inauguration, the Amplifier Foundation, a nonprofit that works to amplify grassroots movements and commissioned the project, came up with a way to distribute the posters. The plan is to buy full-page advertisements in the Washington Post on Jan. 20 that feature the “We the People” images. Supporters will then tear that specific page out and carry it with them to the Inauguration or better yet, hang them up around Washington, D.C. The posters will also be distributed at metro stops, from drop spots and vans on Inauguration Day, as well as online for free download.
Together, they hope the faces of “We the People” will flood Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day.
Photo: Kickstarter
Fairey explained that he was already in the works of a new political campaign but did not expect Trump to win. He went on to explain “we realized a lot of people are going to be vulnerable. There is a lot of division right now. Trump is not a healer. Art, on the other hand, is healing and inclusive, whether topically it celebrates humanity or whether it’s just compelling visuals to make a human connection. And so we thought it was the right time to make a campaign that’s about diversity and inclusion, about people seeing the common bonds we have, and our connections as human beings.”
A Kickstarter campaign for “We the People” has raised more than $911,132 since it was launched Tuesday night.
Photo: Kickstarter
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