Known for his pro-voting posters last spring, Shepard Fairey, a renowned Los Angeles street artist, recently unveiled his first presidential work in more than a decade. The original editions of his HOPE poster, an enduring icon of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, remain his most expensive works to date. Now, however, Fairey is going “FORWARD” with his poster for Kamala Harris, drawing inspiration from her slogan and the Democratic Party’s new rallying cry, “We’re not going back.”
Kamala Harris reiterated this vision during her electoral stops, from Wisconsin to Arizona. Her words, as Fairey himself explains, summarize the historical moment we are going through: “To avoid going backwards, we must move forward!” Paperback with dedication this message to the supporters of the Democratic candidate and her chosen vice president, Tim Walz.
The FORWARD poster features Kamala Harris in a lighter composition than Fairey’s previous works, while still maintaining the artist’s signature style. As with the HOPE poster, the candidate logos and artwork titles appear at the bottom, while the central figures are depicted in singular, confident poses.
Shepard Fairey, speaking about the creation of the poster, said he examined several official White House photos to find inspiration for his portrait: “I took many artistic liberties to enhance the feeling of the portrait, I wanted the image to convey vision, grace and warmth.”
In his previous work, Fairey has expressed disenchantment with the concessions Obama had to make as president, particularly regarding drones and surveillance. However, he seems to be feeling more optimistic this time around, despite not releasing any artwork to support Biden during his campaign.
Fairey seems determined to support Harris on her journey to the presidency, offering an artistic interpretation of her ideals and determination. With his poster, the artist sends a clear and powerful message, but he does more than that. He invites supporters to download the new poster for free, thus helping to spread Harris’ message and give voice to her coveted presidential dream.
The brilliance of the colors, the liveliness of the graphic style, the attention to detail and the profound interpretation of the subject make the poster a true artistic-political manifesto. And, despite those who doubted or criticized, Shepard Fairey, with his art, continues to demonstrate that the world of art and that of ideas can travel on parallel tracks, intersect, building a powerful and fascinating narrative.