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Posted by Jason Urban on July 9th, 2008 | 
Geez. If this keeps up, Printeresting is going to have to assign a full-time writer to the presidential campaign. More political print/graphics in the news, this time in Boston. Ron English and Gallery XIV legally posted giant prints featuring an image of an Obama/Lincoln hybrid portrait. The comparison to Lincoln is not an entirely new one though this is the first time I’ve seen a literal juxtaposition of their two faces. The effect is somewhat jarring. From the Boston Globe…
English said he was born and raised in Illinois and is an Obama supporter. He said he wanted the image to serve as a springboard for conversation about Obama’s candidacy. “I believe Obama will take up Lincoln’s challenge of uniting the country,” English wrote. “This is the most excited I’ve ever been about a presidential candidate and I’m looking for ways that I can contribute as an artist and a citizen.” Some say the comparisons between Obama and Lincoln only go so far.
That last sentence is pretty funny.
The street installation has created controversy with neighborhood businesses and residents largely because of the influx of English fans, a number of whom have done some of their own illegal postings of the images around town. This brings up the issue raised in the last Obamagraphics post, namely, whether or not artists making propaganda without campaign oversight help or hurt the cause. Does Obama take flack for English’s zealous endorsement? Is any publicity good publicity?
(Thanks to RL for the links/story)
Posted by Jason Urban on May 30th, 2008 |  
Milton Bradley, father of the North American board game, was a printmaker. Briefly mentioned in an article in Print (the design mag), this bit of trivia peaked my curiosity so I investigated further. Apparently, it’s true. Not only was he a printmaker, he “enjoyed a successful career in lithography.” Of course, Bradley was living in very different times; it probably wasn’t so uncommon to have a successful career in lithography.
From history.com …
Born in Vienna, Maine, in 1836, Bradley chose a career in printing and lithography in his late teens and set about learning the trade. In 1860, he set up Massachusetts’ first color lithography shop in Springfield. One of his lithographs, a likeness of Abraham Lincoln, sold especially well, until Lincoln grew a beard and rendered Bradley’s beardless image out-of-date.
According to Hasbro, the parent company of Milton Bradley…
One of the first lithographic works turned out by Milton Bradley was a portrait of Abraham Lincoln without his beard. Lincoln had just been nominated for the Presidency of the United States. The sale of this picture was extremely encouraging to the young printer until it was found that Lincoln had grown a beard. The sale of Bradley’s beardless lithograph dropped off drastically.
In seeking ways to keep his business afloat, Mr. Bradley began producing a game he had previously invented called, “The Checkered Game of Life.” His game was so successful, he sold as many as he could produce.
Moral of story: printmaking and the entrepreneurial spirit go hand in hand.
Alternate moral of story: one man’s beard is another man’s burden.
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