“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.” —Obama 1/20/2009 

The two sides of Barack Obama…

By now, a virtual sea of ink has been spilled—particularly on this site—discussing nearly every aspect of SHEPARD FAIREY’s now legendary propaganda poster for BARACK OBAMA’s 2008 presidential campaign. To date, however, no one—including us or even Shepard himself—could put a finger on the photographer behind the source photo that was the basis for Shepard’s patriotic call-to-arms. Now, writer JAMES DANZIGER of burgeoning online news filter THE DAILY BEAST has correctly pinpointed the photojournalist as one JIM YOUNG, and tracked down the original image, which was later flipped and altered by Fairey to create the “Hope” poster. Read all about it HERE.

Shepard’s Obama rendition takes its rightful place in the Smithsonian museum…

Well, it’s finally official. In the words of the freshly minted PRESIDENT OBAMA, it’s time to put aside childish things and get down to the work at hand. Fingers crossed…

Uncle Jam wants YOU… to get off your ass!

Shepard Fairey addresses the crowd while Moby, Michael Stipe, Heather Graham, and Rosario Dawson watch his back…

As if SHEPARD FAIREY’s inclusive “Manifest Hope DC” art show honoring still-President Elect BARACK OBAMA’s epic inauguration tomorrow needed any more heat, his crew of celeb homies showed up in full force to show their support in frigid DC. Rounding out the nite were rockers MOBY and MICHAEL STIPE, alongside actors JOAQUIN PHOENIX (chugging two beers at a time), HEATHER GRAHAM, CASEY AFFLEK, and ROSARIO DAWSON who all attested to the Big O’s greatness before digging on intimate performances by hipster elite SANTOGOLD and OG hip hop legends DE LA SOUL. Of course Supertouch buddy and “Manifest Hope”/Obama Campaign artist TRISTAN EATON was on hand to chronicle the debauchery, the least of which we can show you here. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for the perfect mix for tomorrow nite’s OBAMA INAUGURATION afterparty? Supertouch homie DJ Z-TRIP has made his freshly-minted “Victory Lap: The Obama Mix II” available for free by clicking HERE.

“Follow the O-BAM-AHH! Energy Stix Hummer to the ill afterparty, yo!”

On the eve of the most historical presidential election of modern times, we turn to our dedicated Supertouch correspondents on the frozen ground in DC for a quick pulse check. From bootleg OBAMA T-shirts and burning Bush effigies, to machine gun-toting Marines and everything in-between, DC is the place to be for the ultimate people-watching experience. HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »

KAWS’ latest offering. Available for an extremely limited time in one colorway only…

With frigid temps icing down the coasts, a snowbound otaku fangirl makes the best of the white stuff in the Northwest with a frosty nod to KAWS…

THANX JP

Lei Yixin at work carving MLK and the “Stone of Hope”…

Forty-six years after he gave his famous “I Have a Dream Speech” in Washington on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. is set to finally be immortalized with his own colossal sculpture, titled “The Stone of Hope” in the nation’s capitol. The three-piece monument depicts the civil rights leader stading, arms crossed, before a large and imposing mountain representing the leader’s hard-fought struggle. With the historic inauguration of Barack Obama coming a day after what would have been King’s 80th birthday today, the amount needed to construct the memorial has almost been reached. So far, a reported $100 million of the project’s estimated $120 million construction cost has been raised through donations to the privately financed Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation. Scheduled for completion by year’s end, The MLK memorial will be built on a four-acre corner of the National Mall, on the banks of the Potomac River between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. The image of King is being realized by Chinese master sculptor LEI YIXIN who won a design competition to create the artwork. The decision has not come without controversy, however. Allowing a Chinese artist to helm the project was criticized as being out of step with King’s teachings given that country’s human rights abuses, while the image of King proposed by Yixin itself, drew the ire of The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts earlier this year. According to the group, the image of the civil rights leader shown standing with his arms crossed was too “confrontational,” and the general style of the planned 28-foot granite statue “recalls a genre of political sculpture that has recently been pulled down in other countries.” Luckily, both sides have since reconciled and King’s nephew Isaac Newton Farris Jr., president and chief executive officer of the King Center in Atlanta and nephew of the civil rights leader, has declared that the design correctly depicts his legacy: “My uncle was a strong and confrontational figure, his confrontation helped us to complete what the original founders intended when this country was formed, by confronting our problems with race in this nation. For them to say the statue looks too confrontational and too strong is the opposite of what his legacy was about.” HAVE A LOOK: Read the rest of this entry »