Obama ‘Hope’ poster artist creates ‘Forward’ Kamala Harris design

CNN
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The artist behind the iconic “Hope” poster that became a prominent symbol of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign has created similar artwork for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid.

Shepard Fairey’s new poster, titled “Forward,” features the Democratic nominee in shades of blue, contrasted by red lipstick. Harris is depicted wearing a pearl earring and necklace.

“’We are not going back.’ These words from Kamala Harris summarize the moment we are in, and in order not to go back, we must go FORWARD!” Fairey said in a news release announcing the poster.

Fairey also offered an endorsement of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate, adding that “they are our best chance to push back on encroaching fascism and threats to democracy, and our best chance for creating the world we all desire and deserve.”

Years after the “Hope” poster, Fairey said Obama didn’t live up to his promise, telling Esquire in 2015 that “there have been a lot of things that he’s compromised on that I never would have expected.”

And in the next election, despite calling Donald Trump “dangerous,” Fairey did not create artwork for his opponent Hillary Clinton, and told CNN in 2016 that he didn’t find Clinton “inspiring enough” to illustrate.

Fairey then went on to draw three posters in protest of Trump ahead of his inauguration. The posters, titled “We the People,” featured Muslim, Latina, and African-American women.

Although Fairey did not create artwork endorsing Joe Biden in 2020, the artist partnered with climate advocacy group Greenpeace USA on a poster that called on Biden — just days into his presidency — to deliver on his climate campaign promises.

The poster, titled “Which Future Will You Deliver?,” featured a drawing of Biden in front of two scenarios: one in which the world is on fire because of the effects of fossil fuels and the other depicting a cleaner Earth.

This story has been updated with additional information.