Hope is the motto that helped snag Obama the presidency and now this message seems more poignant than ever.

This is arguably the most famous presidential campaign poster ever. I am sure you know that though, unless of course you have been living under a rock for the last decade in which case, in light of current events, might I suggest you stay there. Fairey started this print series as an independent activist working to aid the upcoming 2008 election, but with its widespread success, the Obama campaign issued an official approval of the work.

Fairey explained that this image symbolizes “grassroots activism and a return to the people of believing in democracy, not just the people with the most power trying to manipulate democracy for their own ends.” With such a vision, I am sure it comes as no surprise that Fairey endorsed Bernie Sanders during his run for presidency, creating a whole series of t-shirts for the Berners.  

Everyone and their mom knows this image, and about half of them have made parodies out of it. There has been every version made, from Guy Fawkes, to Paul McCain, Sarah Palin, and it has even been used as an advertisement for the TV show "Veep". Of course, people have also turned the image around in order to rip on Obama himself. One popular version in particular depicts Obama as the Joker from Batman with the word “socialism” across the bottom.

I am sure its the people who made images like that who most enjoyed Fairey's snafu with this poster shortly after the election. Turns out, he based the poster on a picture taken in 2006 by the Associated Press. The Press soon asked for compensation, and being the good American Fairey is, he sued the bastards! Feeling hopeful that he would win (pardon my horrendous pun), he sued for a declaratory judgment on the grounds that his poster was fair use, blah blah blah, your typical legal mumbo jumbo stuff. The two ended up settling out of court, with the details of the settlement remaining confidential. All of us gossipy art nerds were pretty disappointed about that one. Luckily, the drama didn’t end there! Turns out, when he sued the Associated Press, he claimed he used a different picture, then proceed to destroy all evidence of the AP photos in his studio and fabricated new ones. Perhaps karma was starting to come back with a vengeance or maybe his moral compass turned back north, but in 2012, Fairey admitted his wrongdoings and pleaded guilty in a federal court. He was sentenced to two years probation, 300 hours of community service, and a fine of $25,000. Ouch.

Through all this, did Fairey stick to his message and remain hopeful? Not really. Turns out that Fairey is pretty disappointed with the Obama presidency, feeling that he fell very short of his promises. We can only hope (sorry, last one I promise) that he’s not down in the dumps for too long, for the world of street art and political activism would just not be the same without him.