SO freshly back and hundreds of pics and still kind of spinning trying to process the last few hours of my life... ~ on the next page you'll find a visual walkthrough of the chaos that was the President Obama Town Hall meeting in Los Angeles ~ i was lucky enough to snag a ticket (#0010!!!)... Not going to go into the politics, but it was an incredible thing to experience in person ~ so here's a look at how it felt to be there... and while i'm not the best at playing "spot/name the politician" many around me were remarking about how the event was a real who's who of politics in California... the chairs around the stage were VIP, and us ticket holders were in the bleachers. Also, i've never been SO close to a president before... it was kind of trippy sitting so near the stage, and having him enter just a few feet away!

p.s.
for the full text of the meeting check out the LA Times

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Tags: events - los angeles - obama

Manifest Hope: DC ~ as you already know, i was at the opening tonight (and luckily got to sneak in a little early and get some nice people free pics before it turned mob scene!)... so i've already shown you the overview - with looks at some pieces of art, the spaces, the goodies, and more... and as promised here's a post filled with *most* of my favorites complete with closeups! That means another 30 pics or so on the next page! Unfortunately no names/titles, because 1) its 3am 2) sooooo many works of art 3) had trouble keep track of everything, but no worries, Yosi said it will all be up on the Manifest Hope: DC site! So enjoy the art, in this post you can see it from my perspective! ~ and if this at&t usb internet card we're trying out allows, gallery of everything i've got (unedited) will be up soon for those who want to see it all and in more detail!

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Tags: art - gallery - obama - travel

Wow. Yosi Sergant (along with his whole team at the awesome Evolutionary Media Group) and Shepard Fairey sure know how to put on a hell of an art show, raise spirits, and pull off this ridiculously nonchalant, humble adorableness. To both of them, CONGRATS!!! It's been an absolute honor to be able to watch such influential folks put their powers to use for good in the election of Obama from such a close distance, and personally, their ability to bring the creative community together so strongly and visually has been mind numbing. Tonight was no different, as i come back to the hotel, mind spinning, and CF card loaded with over 150 amazing pictures i want to share with you from Manifest Hope: DC! So i've been sitting here trying to make sense of what to show you and how, without completely overwhelming you! So for starters this post gives you an overview of the space, the art, and the pins/stickers/posters... and more to come soon.

Manifest Hope: DC is absolutely incredible, regardless of how you may feel about Obama, or the visual idolization of our new icon ~ the quality of art in this show, and the amount of art in this show is absolutely stunning. The focus of Manifest Hope: DC is three themes... Manifest Change - Health Care Reform, Manifest Unity - Workers' Rights, and Manifest Opportunity - The Green Economy ~ in fact 15 of these works were picked from over a thousand submitted in the online contest! So here we go... see the first 25 pics on the next page... and closeups of my favorites and a gallery of all of it coming up soon ~ baby steps, people!

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Tags: art - obama - travel

008 The Movement and Upper Playground strike again ~ for Obama! The artist collaborations they have been coordinating are incredible, regardless of whether you support Obama, it's hard not to be in awe not only of the way that Obama's campaign has been designed, but also how impeccably designed/inspired/executed the unofficial art that has come out to support him has been as well. Here are the latest limited edition posters (which you will probably be seeing popping up around soon as well) - from Munk One, and long time NOTCOT favorite, Sam Flores. If you're looking to get one of these limited editions, move quickly, because the last ones from the MAC, the Date Farmers, and Obey/Shepard Fairey (and the shirts as well) have sold out nearly instantly. You can still get Shepard Fairey HOPE stickers here.

To side step slightly... did you hear that Obama wrote Shepard Fairey a thank you note? And that it might be sanctioning him to create street art on stop signs? Will this really become a free pass for street artists? (yes, a bit of reading between the lines by shep on this one, but i think its a nice move that Obama and his people acknowledge the influence of the medium.) And the unofficial artist posters in support of him have been so influential and successful, that Obama's official campaign has even Artists for Obama gallery with limited edition prints, the first being a CHANGE version of the Shepard Fairey poster.

And as a special something for our NOTCOT/Obama supporters - i've also gotten my hands on a few of the Shepard Fairey HOPE posters and stickers, the MAC posters, and Date Farmers posters... i haven't been sure how to give these away yet, but how about those interested in helping the cause - comment here with where you'd put them up and we can try to send some out to you in exchange for some pics of where they go?

TO PAGE 2 of "Sam Flores and Munk One for Obama"! ----->

Tags: art - obama