Yaicha

I’m about to pack up my laptop and get on my way to the airport for my trip to Costa Rica, but while scanning the headlines this morning (since for 11 days I won’t have much access to any), an image and headline in the NYT caught my eye. I confess I’ve only skimmed the blog post, “Campaign Stops: Beyond Red, White and Blue,” but I can recommend it for the pictures of unusual political posters alone, none of which I recall ever having seen before.

I’ve included the image that prompted the discussion on this topic, and here’s what Steven Heller had to say about it in his blog entry:

But now everyone is talking about the Social Realist inspired poster of Barack Obama by Los Angeles graphic designer and street artist Shepard Fairey, and how unique it is. In truth it’s not all that unique. Indeed, artists have been inspired by particular candidates for years and have designed posters that break the mold not only in terms of color and style but also in message and tone.

I like the points Heller makes, both the obvious ones about how such art is eye-catching at the least, and his more insightful comments, such as:

Sure, posters, banners and buttons are not going to sway a voter, but they may touch responsive chords with those who have already made choices. During the McCarthy campaign I hung the Ben Shahn poster in my apartment window not just to show support for the candidate but to ally myself with my generation, which the poster’s artful graphics telegraphed so well. Likewise, the Obama poster is street art, which signals a message to youth culture. And even for older voters it signals change. At the very least it suggests that if campaign messages were not so formulaic there might not be the perception of business as usual.

I highly recommend looking at the entire post, even if you only skim it to see the fascinating images from campaigns past, including political posters designed by Andy Warhol (of Nixon, but for McGovern) and Peter Max.