Artist: Shepard Fairey / Photographer: Ridwan Adhami / via amplifier foundation
In January 2017, artist Shepard Fairey released a set of three politically charged posters titled "We the People." The posters feature a Muslim woman, a Latina woman and an African-American woman.
Artist: Shepard Fairey / Photographer: Arlene Mejorado / via amplifier foundation
At the time, Fairey said he chose to portray these three groups because he felt they had been "criticized by Trump and maybe were going to be most, if not necessarily vulnerable in a literal sense, most feeling that their needs would be neglected in a Trump administration."
Artist: Shepard Fairey / Photographer: Delphine Diallo / via amplifier foundation
Fairey said he created the images in order to "make sure people remember that 'we the people' means everyone." The free to download posters were released online in partnership with the Amplifier Foundation.
Art Courtesy Shepard Fairey / ObeyGiant.com
Shepard Fairey's image of Donald Trump, created in 2016, is inspired by George Orwell's 1984. "The idea (is) of an all powerful Big Brother that is more or less dictating how people are living their lives because they are fearful and they feel watched all the time," explained Fairey in an interview with CNN in November 2016.
Courtesy of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics
His depiction of Barack Obama has become synonymous with the 2008 presidential election.
Art Courtesy Shepard Fairey / ObeyGiant.com
Fairey made art of Bernie Sanders in 2016. "I think art affects people emotionally, and if it affects them emotionally, then they want to find an intellectual rationale for how they were affected emotionally," said the 46-year-old artist. "So, I think that can create a conversation that wouldn't happen otherwise, and create breakthroughs that wouldn't happen otherwise."
courtesy shepard fairey via HOCA
"Public art is very important to me because it interacts with people and where they live," Fairey told CNN when he was in Hong Kong in 2016 producing public works with the HOCA Foundation.
courtesy shepard fairey via HOCA
This image by Fairey appeared on Hong Kong streets to coincide with a large exhibition of his works.
Art Courtesy Shepard Fairey / ObeyGiant.com
"I think it's very important for people to be outspoken about their beliefs towards justice," Fairey said.
Art Courtesy Shepard Fairey / ObeyGiant.com
"What I try to do with my art is use a visual to encourage someone to engage in a deeper conversation, rather than what most propaganda does, which is to say, this is how you think and this is the end of the conversation," Fairey told CNN.
Art Courtesy Shepard Fairey / ObeyGiant.com
Besides politics, Fairey's work also centers on themes of social justice, the environment and climate change.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images North America/Getty Images
A mural in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York by Shepard Fairey.
Art Courtesy Shepard Fairey / ObeyGiant.com
This is one of Fairey's earliest works. "My Obey campaign was about putting things on the street that you normally wouldn't encounter," Fairey told CNN. "Something that's an alternative to advertising or government signage."
CNN  — 

Shepard Fairey – the artist behind the 2008 “Hope” poster depicting then presidential candidate Barack Obama – has produced a new set of images in time for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration this Friday.

Poster politics: Understanding the art of persuasion

The three posters feature Muslim, Latino, and African-American women.

“We thought (they) were the three groups that had been maybe criticized by Trump and maybe were going to be most, if not necessarily vulnerable in a literal sense, most feeling that their needs would be neglected in a Trump administration,” Fairey told CNN.

Fairey, along with artists Jessica Sabogal and Ernesto Yerena, teamed up with the non-profit Amplifier Foundation – a self-described “art machine for social change” – to produce works for the organization’s We the People campaign.

03:35 - Source: CNN
Obama 'Hope' artist: Trump is 'dangerous'

“It’s really about making sure that people remember that ‘we the people’ means everyone, it means all the people,” Fairey said. “I think the campaigns were very divisive, more from one side than the other. But (it’s) just reminding people to find their common humanity, and look beyond maybe one narrow definition of what it means to be American.”

The campaign’s objective, as stated in its Kickstarter campaign, is to “flood” Washington with symbols of hope on Jan. 20.

“On January 20th, if this campaign succeeds, we’re going to take out full-page ads in the Washington Post with these images, so that people across the capitol and across the country will be able to carry them into the streets, hang them in windows, or paste them on walls,” organizers wrote.

05:45 - Source: CNN
'Hope' street artist creates anti-Trump signs

So far, more than $1.3 million has been pledged, exceeding the Amplifier Foundation’s $60,000 target.

Artists against Trump

Fairey, who has previously depicted him in an image inspired by George Orwell’s “1984,” has long been vocal about Trump.

Can art be too political? Artist Zineb Sedira sounds off

“Trump is dangerous,” Fairey told CNN in the lead-up to the 2016 election. “He’s a demagogue who’s a bigot and is sexist. He really has no respect for a lot of different people, no experience in politics, and is pursuing the presidency out of his own ego rather than a desire to create the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”

Amplifier Foundation
"We The Resilient" by Ernesto Yerena (left) and "We The Indivisible" by Jessica Sabogal are also part of the Amplifier Foundation's We The People campaign.

Fairey is not the only artist making a statement against Trump. Los Angeles-based artist Illma Gore recently revealed a mural painted with human blood to protest Trump, and actress Meryl Streep earned the President-elect’s scorn when she spoke out against him in a speech at the Golden Globes earlier this month.