Barack Obama pop art design

Barack Obama with globe pop art picture

London time: This is now the day of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the President of the United States of America.

Here is a couple of interesting quotes, first from Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964 talking to the BBC:

Frankly, I have seen certain changes in the United States over the last two years that surprise me. I’ve seen levels of compliance with the Civil Rights Bill and changes that have been most surprising. So, on the basis of this, I think we may be able to get a Negro president in less than 40 years. I would think that this could come in 25 years or less.

Amazingly, Obama was elected 44 years after he said that.

And secondly from Tupac Shakur in his song “Changes” over 30 years later:

Take the evil out the people they’ll be acting right
’cause both black and white is smokin’ crack tonight
and only time we chill is when we kill each other
it takes skill to be real, time to heal each other
And although it seems heaven sent
We ain’t ready, to see a black President

2-Pac wrote that in the mid-90s after the Rodney King beatings and the crack epidemic. He could not foresee this day. I don’t think many people could. Maybe only people with the foresight of Martin Luther King.

Anyway I did the above pop art illustration of President Barack Obama in Illustrator using it’s Live Trace feature. It caused the effect of posterizing the photo of Obama into about 4 or 5 colors and the globe into 2 colors. I like the way that you can see both the United States and Africa behind Obama.

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This article was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 2:04 am and is filed under Design, Illustrator.
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22 Responses to “Barack Obama pop art design”

  1. Leaflet Distribution, on January 20th, 2009 at 11:47 am, said:

    Lets hope that this day will be the start of some common sense on this planet, is it not about time that good prevailed. Would the world not be a much better place with a little more tolerance.

  2. How To Start A Business In South Carolina, on January 20th, 2009 at 12:29 pm, said:

    It has been a long journey for improvements on civil rights and equality, and with Obama being sworn in, the civil rights movement have come full circle since the “I have a dream speech”. I hope Obama can concentrate on increasing jobs, advancing education, and the decreasing of our dependence on fossil fuels.

  3. Andrew Kelsall, on January 20th, 2009 at 9:30 pm, said:

    I just watched the auguration tonight, it was great to see. I went to DC a few years back and stood next to the statue ofpresident Lincoln…such a great memory. Wish I could be there to see the speech!

  4. Andrew Kelsall, on January 20th, 2009 at 9:47 pm, said:

    Hi Rob, forgot to ask, are you on Twitter?

  5. ed hardy, on January 21st, 2009 at 10:57 pm, said:

    I have just finished watching Malcom X and by the time it was about to end, I was crying to feel that change. I think that I am very blessed person who is able to see such a historical change with my naked eyes.

  6. David Airey, on January 23rd, 2009 at 3:33 pm, said:

    Hi Rob,

    I hope you’ve been well lately.

    That’s a nice image you use for the post, and Martin Luther was almost right on the money with that quote. I didn’t know that before now.

  7. Multi Domain Hosting, on January 27th, 2009 at 10:26 am, said:

    Great image Rob..you are right..isn’t freaky how great leader often are right on the money with their predictions…thanks

  8. digital photo camera, on January 31st, 2009 at 11:14 am, said:

    You have a good article. How you can get information about it. Please give me some clue

  9. shosho, on January 31st, 2009 at 7:57 pm, said:

    I find this intereting. Thank you for your time.

  10. sero, on February 1st, 2009 at 1:25 am, said:

    Thank you ı love obama . this intereting

  11. izmir evden eve, on February 6th, 2009 at 8:32 am, said:

    Thank you for your time.

  12. scarletbreeze, on February 9th, 2009 at 7:24 am, said:

    good piece of thinking.. keep it up

  13. Rob Cubbon, on February 9th, 2009 at 8:09 pm, said:

    Thank you, Leaflet Distribution, How To Start A Business In South Carolina, Andrew Kelsall, ed hardy, David Airey, Multi Domain Hosting, digital photo camera, shosho, sero, izmir evden eve and scarletbreeze for your comments.

    Andrew, you’ve been to Washington but you haven’t been to London yet? You should really make it down south one day! Holding back from Twitter just for now. I get there one day and let you know!

    David,I’ve been well thank you. Enjoyed the snow, not so keen on the rain. Amazing quote from Martin Luther King, jnr.

  14. Ami | Niche Marketing Blog, on February 9th, 2009 at 10:23 pm, said:

    The Obama thing is just inspiring. If anyone ever thought that there was a risk of him failing in his presidency, they don’t understand what he has already achieved.
    Just got hold of the Audacity of Hope and cannot wait to get stuck in
    Obviously from my ramblings you can garner that I am impressed

  15. peterK, on February 16th, 2009 at 1:26 pm, said:

    This is very interesting and fascinating reading.

  16. Rob Cubbon, on February 22nd, 2009 at 1:52 pm, said:

    Ami, I’m glad you feel inspired. I hope you enjoy the book although I haven’t read it. Thanks for the comment.

    Thank you, peterK

  17. will, on March 30th, 2009 at 5:42 pm, said:

    Did you hear Shepard Fairey (the guy who did the famous Barack Obama pop art “hope” poster) got arrested for graffiti? its mad that such an artist is thrown in jail in this day and age. “Hope” ha! Hope doesn’t mean change obviously. He’s also getting done for copyright infringement, which if i wins means any photocollage artwork is liable for prosecution. The worlds gone mad.

  18. Rob Cubbon, on March 31st, 2009 at 12:27 pm, said:

    Hi will, no I didn’t know all that. Scary, indeed. I’ve often wondered about copyright issues when I’ve edited/adapted original photography. Thanks for your comment.

  19. Herbal Care, on May 17th, 2009 at 8:02 am, said:

    The picture is not that good because I hate Obama, but your work is great. Do not worry about copyright infrigement, you didn’t do nothing wrong.

  20. quick house sale, on May 21st, 2009 at 8:10 am, said:

    Relax, you won`t be charged for copyright infrigement. Pictures lke this are all over the internet.

  21. jack, on June 8th, 2009 at 11:49 am, said:

    Great image Rob..you are right..isn’t freaky how great leader often are right on the money with their predictions…thanks

  22. YeniModa, on September 12th, 2009 at 10:41 pm, said:

    Hello Rob forgot to ask are you on Twitter sites?

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