Step 1: Get Barack Obama Elected.
Step 2: Remake America. And do enjoy yourself along the way, because this is the moment we’ve been scratching and clawing for.

The duty of the artist is to defeat the lie. And that is painfully necessary. But it is also our task to inspire the truth. If the image of the day is truth, justice, and equality, then we can defeat the forces of imperial militarism, “greed is good,” and hyper-individualism.

If we look out and the image is sustainability, then we can defeat the notion of separateness and dominance over our natural environment.

And if the image is for a “we the people” form of government, then we defeat the apathetic, wasteful consumer view of ourselves and are remade to act in the caste of citizen. With that, there is to be millions demanding progressive action.

There’s a shift happening. A new dynamic with a holistic worldview. A reigniting of a participatory democracy. A real power to the people movement. (more…)

MANIFEST HOPE: DC gathers together a diverse array of the nation’s most talented visual artists under one roof to mark this monumental achievement in our nation’s history and encourages artists and activists to maintain the momentum to bring about true change in the United States.

Designers Jason Hardy, Jason Dietrick and myself, alongside many amazing artists and designers including Shepard Fairey, Ron English, David Choe, and Scott Hansen, will have work on display in the days preceding the historic Inauguration of Barack Obama.

All cynicism has been left aside. Our focus now is on visualizing the future — a future that solves the one big crisis of our time. For we have critiqued what we have seen, what we have deemed inadequate to the creation of a sustainable, just, and equitable world. We are setting out now to make our place on this planet better. To create with a holistic vision how we want to live, how we want treat each other, and how we want to leave our communities for the next generation.

We are designing brighter tomorrows. We are redefining freedom. Healing the sick. Uniting the workers. Catching the sun. We are in this together, so let’s ride! -jk-

This beginning is fresh. The forecast is for sunny. Though the problems are many, big, and scary, the will to solve them is great. What we set out to do now until May 1 will have profound effects into the long-term that is our future in this country. In this world. So, what’s it gonna be?

What are the priorities? What next? What is the most important things to do in this moment?

Universal Health Care? Green Collar Economy? Renewable Energy Future? An Investment to Eradicate Poverty? A Push for Peace?

We can’t do everything, but what we decide to do must include a holistic view of the total. One that employs thinking in the long-term. A view that will set us on course for a brighter tomorrow and creates the needed momentum to take us into a sustainable and just world.

Until January 21st…
-jk-