The official Inaugural Poster is by ...(who else, but) -- Shepard Fairey, whose famous Obama Poster now hangs in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. From an edgy street artist who understood propaganda and the power of the visual, this seems a little too official.
The most interesting change from the old poster into this one is the title: a command (Be the Change) instead of a one-word challenge, or an inspiring team chant yes-we-can. That turn of words...
I'll be watching the turn of words from a man who rose on rhetoric. Most Inaugural Addresses are forgettable. His might not be.
And, the First Lady fashion as it relates to cultural statements, too.
Signs of the times, the cultural semiotics of it all in visuals, dress and words.
update: WhiteHouse.gov first blog post
MLK, FDR, JFK, Abe, George and Springsteen, all rolled into one! No human can live up to the hype. As GWB can tell you, hype doesn't matter as you are leaving, what people said up front, the confetti and front page stories go away, and what one accomplished is all we will remember. Prognosticating by the press and pontificating by frontmen are out, the game is on! Also, much of the celebrating today is the fact that GWB is leaving, that adds to the circus atmosphere.
Posted by: anthony | January 20, 2009 at 08:14 AM
I agree -- it's what happens after the party is over that matters. I just hope people don't expect too much too soon. This is going to take a while.
Posted by: Kay Dennison | January 20, 2009 at 04:44 PM