Kamala Harris Art Stencils Recall Iconic Obama ‘Hope’ Posters

In a meme-driven culture powered by social media, political art can seem like it’s on steroids. But old-school methods are still employed. Stencils have long been favored. They’re cheap and can transfer numerous images quickly and efficiently. Moreover, stencils deliver impact and convey authenticity.

Stencils first took off as street art in the early 1980s when Blek le Rat (Xavier Prou) began covering Paris with images of rats, which he called “the only animal to survive the apocalypse.” (He also noted that “rat” is an anagram for “art.”) The French artist has been hailed as the “father of stencil graffiti.” Inspired by Blek le Rat, Banksy got to work in the 1990s.

Stencil Art Used As A Voter Engagement Tool

Drawing on those artistic traditions, Minneapolis artist Brandon Litman created a stencil of Kamala Harris after she announced her candidacy, believing that “people respond to the grittiness of street art and just the excitement of coming across it,” he says. He’s since created about 5,000 stenciled Harris posters and some of Governor Tim Walz. Litman creates the art in his Minneapolis studio and at pop-up events.

Using brightly colored spray paints, the image of a smiling Harris includes the words, “We Fight We Win” and #VoteRuthless, the name of Litman’s campaign.

Setting up his workstation at rallies, farmers markets, campuses and street corners, Litman invites onlookers to choose colors. After spraying a stencil, he hands over an original work of art at no cost, but also accepts donations. Proceeds from online sales of yard signs, posters and stickers ($5-$26) are used to hire staff that he sources from Minneapolis non-profits.

“When I hand people the poster, there’s always that gasp and a smile,” Litman says. “People are searching for something to help them feel connected. It’s also become a voter engagement tool to bring people together and start conversations.”

The Barack Obama ‘Hope’ Poster Was An Inspiration

Litman drew inspiration for his work from artist Shepard Fairey who created the Barack Obama “Hope” poster in 2008, an image that became an emblem of Obama’s presidential campaign. “I think what Fairey did for Obama is hard to replicate,” Litman says. “I’ve riffed off of that, but the big difference with my art is that it allows people to co-create the image with me. Each stencil image is different, there’s not one that’s like the other.”

Litman’s first political art stencil was of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, created in 2015. After she died in 2020, he set up a table at Minneapolis’ Lake Harriet and started spraying her stencil on a pad of paper, tearing off sheets for onlookers. “People started lining up; I was inspired by how many wanted one,” Litman says. “A community started building around the enthusiasm.”

Litman says he sprays until he runs out of materials, typically producing 100 or more posters and yard signs in one sitting. “After that, my arm is cooked and I need some rest,” he says. He recently teamed with St. Paul-based Wet Paint art supply where he’s held DIY stencil demonstrations, allowing people to create works from his Harris and Walz stencils.

Some bring personal objects to be stenciled—computer cases, handbags and other objects.

Graffitimundo: the Buenos Aires Non-Profit That Propelled A Movement

Stencil art that powers activism is perhaps most prevalent in Buenos Aires where the art form took hold during the 2001 economic crisis, although street activist stencils have been used in the city since the 1920s. Graffitimundo organizes city artists and acts as an information resource. Formed in 2009, the non-profit curates exhibitions and has gallery space in San Telmo, Buenos Aires.

In the U.S., the Great Depression was a prime time for artists to band together to address politics. “They actively found ways to influence society through exhibition and distribution of their work,” said Art Hazelwood onArtbusiness.com. “Artists organized exhibitions around social and political themes such as poverty, lack of affordable housing, anti-lynching, anti-fascism and workers strikes. They organized conferences. They actually unionized.”

Hazelwood gives the example of Mission Gráfica, founded in 1977 by artists John Joseph “Jos” Sances and René Castro. “In the early years Mission Gráfica created hundreds of screenprint posters with artists from around the world,” Hazelwood said. “One of their major focuses was on Central American solidarity with the struggles going on there against U.S. sponsored right wing governments and paramilitary groups.”

While Litman’s work is less plucky than that produced by Graffitimundo or Mission Gráfica, the artist doesn’t shy away from the art form’s activist roots. He’s also created stencils for former Georgia Representative Stacey Abrams, former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke, Hillary Clinton (during her presidential campaign) and candidates Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock during Georgia’s January 2021 runoff elections. During a stencil event for Minnesota Representative Angie Craig, Litman gave Governor Tim Walz a lesson in the art form.

Litman has created about 14,000 posters from his political art stencils.

The Popularity Of Republican Political Art

Republican political art grew in tandem with the popularity of Democrat stencil and street art, particularly after Fairey’s Obama “Hope” poster appeared. Trump as a superhero has been a popular theme. In late 2022, the former president launched NFT digital trading cards that depict him as a superhero and other larger-than-life characters.

Artist Jon McNaughton, who had previously worked in landscapes and religious paintings, turned to political art during the 2008 presidential election. His work became prominent during Obama’s presidency after he depicted the president burning the Constitution in a painting titled “One Nation Under Socialism.”

McNaughton’s popularity spiked again when Donald Trump became president, and most recently, during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Using Christian themes and imagery, McNaughton’s art blends realism, fantasy and impressionism. Some liken it to Norman Rockwell’s folksy style. Vox’s film and culture reporter Alissa Wilkinson has called McNaughton the “single most famous pro-Trump artist.”

His images include Trump standing before a white picket fence holding a key (”Make America Safe”), and standing before a crowd as he indicates a young couple who tend to a seedling (”You Are Not Forgotten”).

“Whether it’s propaganda or inspiring, art always drives social movements,” Litman says. “Revolutions have been inspired by art, it really can help change the world.”

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