Poster: Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey has long used political imagery in his poster-style art. And now, two days ahead of this week's Obama o-rama, a west side pr firm -- Yosi Sergant at Evolutionary Media Group -- sent an email around announcing that Fairey was endorsing Barack Obama. The sheet also included info on how to buy Fairey's poster prints of the candidate. If the artist's name doesn't ring a bell, his Obey image (Andre the Giant) will -- glued onto automobile back windows by the many thousands, on utility boxes and light poles. Why, I'm not sure, though it's a strong, memorable black-and-white picture of a face, signature Fairey. The artist also has some political-style murals in Echo Park, on Sunset near the turn for Dodger Stadium, and more more on Sunset near Mohawk. Fairey is already president of his own small corner of the art world, but you could say it looked like it was Obama who was endorsing Fairey, by the mere fact of Obama's being depicted on the poster. Yes, you could say that. (To wit, will Obama's face become signature Fairey like Andre the Giant? Look closely, and you'll see that Obama is wearing Andre the Giant on his person.)

The PR firm offered this "clip" from Fairey's web site:

”I believe with great conviction that Barack Obama should be the next President. I have been paying close attention to him since the Democratic convention in 2004. I feel that he is more a statesman than a politician. He was against the war when it was an unpopular position (and Hillary was for the war at that time), Obama is for energy and environmental conservation. He is for healthcare reform. Check him out for yourself www.barackobama.com. Proceeds from this print go to produce prints for a large statewide poster campaign.”

And what's wrong with that? Well...nothing.