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Selected Projects 2016-18
The United States has a rich history of politically
motivated art, from the first political cartoons of
the American Revolution to the socially conscious
artists involved in civil rights movements of the
1950s and 60s and leading up to works of today
disseminated on social media and as street art. In
1972 Andy Warhol created “Vote McGovern” for the
George McGovern Presidential campaign. Rather
than portraying McGovern, Warhol decided to
represent his opponent in a negative light. During
the 2008 elections, the Barack Obama “Hope” poster–designed
by the renowned graffiti artist Shepard
Fairey–was widely described as iconic and came
to represent the 2008 presidential campaign. The
image became one of the most important aspects of
Obama’s campaign messages, and arguably affected
the perception of Obama in a positive way. By
contrast, graffiti art and posters of President-elect
Donald Trump, produced by designers and graffiti
artists, were largely negative. Why do artists react to
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Mariah Tarentino