Activity 3: Your understanding of static images

The image of Barack Obama originally appeared on posters during the 2008 presidential campaign. Consider the context of the image. How was this image used? How was it distributed? In what larger cultural and historical context was it important? Who was the intended audience?

Image. High-contrast head-and-shoulders drawing of Barack Obama with red and blue background and red, blue, and cream coloring for the shadows and highlights in the drawing. In very large letters at the bottom of the drawing is the word hope. Source Shepard Fairey.

Next think about how the image was transformed by various artists in other contexts. Consider the following examples. (You may find additional examples online by conducting an image search with terms like obama and hope and poster and remix.)

Three images. The images are all in the style of the preceding Obama image, with different subjects and headings. The image on the left shows Pope Benedict the sixteenth. The large word at the bottom of the image is Pope. Source Michael Ian Weinfeld. The image in the middle shows a Transformer character with the words Change into a truck at the bottom of the image. Source Timothy P. Doyle. The image on the right shows Charles Darwin with the words Very gradual change we can believe in at the bottom. Source Mike Rosulek.

What effect does each image have on the viewer? Who do you think is the intended audience for each image? Why do you think the artists chose to invoke the Obama campaign poster when creating each of these images? What can you find out about the cultural and historical context in which these images were created?