Shepard Fairey
Way before Shepard Fairey became famous for having designed the Obama “HOPE” poster, we went to one of his exhibition at Stolenspace Gallery, a very cool place in London (http://www.stolenspace.com). We fell in love with the picture above (it was gigantic; the size of a wall so very impressive) and decided that we wanted it as artwork in the bedroom. We got a print of it, framed it and put it on the wall. Unfortunately, when we moved from England to Canada we were unable to take it with us so it’s still there, along with *sigh* our design books, portfolios and other stuff *sigh*.
That was back in 2007, so I had almost forgot about my love for that print until I came across the 2010 Manifesto for the Labour Party (UK). Even though it’s probably unintended, it does look a bit like a weak imitation of the Obey poster… Except that instead of looking at a polluted city the couple on the manifesto are looking at an nuclear explosion at the sun — but seriously; let’s be realistic — when did the UK become such a sunny destination???
2010 Manifesto
In the first image, the tag line These sunsets are to die for! actually makes sense with the picture in the way that yes, pollution will eventually kill you, no matter how lovely it makes the sky look.
On the second one they’re apparently staring into the future or as the manifesto says A future fair for all. I don’t really see how a blinding sunrise signifies a ‘A future fair for all’… To me it’s saying that they’re staring into the abyss, an uncertain future so keep those closest to you close as what’s coming might not be good times. This is basically the last thing you want to hear from a party trying to get your vote and really poor work by the design team as they have (to me at least) created an image that does the opposite of what it’s supposed to… One thing is for sure: the second image won’t make it as artwork for the bedroom for sure!
Vick @ Yellow Car Design
