Shepherd Fairey, What Have You Started?

By BEN WATERHOUSE

Palin cover Remember this image? It was our cover last week, the work of Barry Stock , and it cleverly (if we may so flatter ourselves) riffs on the iconic Barack Obama HOPE poster by Shepherd Fairey . Fairey's work, which started popping up all over the country (appearing both in the window of my neighbor and the office of Willamette Week 's publisher) in January, is easily the most iconic image of the 2008 campaign, and Stock isn't the only artist to refer to it for inspiration—far from it. You can find an enormous variety of imitations and parodies here , though I'm sure that list is far from complete. The latest, most inspiring addition is the cover of this week's Mad Magazine .

Another Fairey-inspired anti-Palin campaign hit the streets of Portland this weekend. I spotted these large-scale, wheat-pasted posters from the anonymous artists at A Frightening Prospect at the bus stop outside Laurelhurst Theater at Northeast 28th Avenue and East Burnside Street. By the time I got to the scene this morning, someone—presumably a Palin supporter waiting for the bus, given the halfhearted removal job—had already countervandalized the posters. Please pardon the crappy cell-phone photo.
Anti-Palin posters at NE 28th and Burnside

In related news: How awesome is this mural ?

WWeek 2015

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.