Somewhere along the well-trodden path marked by El Lissitzky and Lester Beall walks Shepard Fairey. And, like the famous propaganda artists of yesteryear, Fairey prefers red and has a flair for dramatic perspective—although that is where the similarities end. His latest poster coincides with a new grassroots initiative by moveon.org titled Power Up America, and depicts an idealized future where energy independence is delivered by a trio of heroic wind turbines that advance from a majestic mountain range under a halo of five-point stars. It’s good clean silkscreened Americana: red, white and blue with a dash of idiosyncratic wood type that collectively produce an ironic nostalgia for our own future.
Unlike the now-iconic Obama “Hope” poster, which demonstrates a similar, if more measured idealism appropriate to its cultural moment, this image fails to generate a sense of urgency. And, unlike the work of Lissitzky and Beall, it is fundamentally passive despite its visual melodrama. It asks the viewer to believe in alternative energy, but gently rather than persuasively—emphasizing the polished aesthetics of turbines rather than a passionate visual or verbal argument for change. In this case, illustration is not activism—but the limited edition print will look good in your living room, most likely lit by coal-fired electricity.
[ image via obeygiant.com ]