MNN - Mother Nature Network

I arrived in DC just a day ago, and already there is so much to write about I hardly know where to begin. I'll be reporting all week from Washington DC and even though it is quite freezing for an LA boy, I will be doing my best to scurry across town from venue to venue so you can stay abreast of all the major green events, as well as some cool private enviro-parties. I'm also going to be twittering special updates, so if you're on twitter you can follow me @ greendig. 

 

My first event of the week was the *amazing* Manifest Hope art exhibit and competition. Saturday morning began with a momentous event — the now famous and ever-present poster image of Obama created by Shephard Fairey not only landed on the cover of Time magazine, but was hung in the Smithsonian American Art Museum at 9:30, making it almost certainly one of the most important works of political art in US history. Fairey (who has a design studio in LA as well as a clothes company called Obey) was even on Larry King the other night, and its clear that in the Obama era, the artists who shape image and popular culture will be given a prominent place. 

 

Fairey will be one of the esteemed judges of the traveling art exhibit and competition called Manifest Hope. I went to the opening and I have to say, there is just something in the air — a euphoria and sense of relief that somehow, as Obama says, "This is our time." The phrase "manifest hope" became a rallying call earlier in the year as Obama went from a underdog candidate to a leading contender for the democratic nomination. It was a verb in those months, an invitation for us to believe that an African American, left-of-center democrat could have even a remote chance of walking into the White House.

 

But that verb has become a noun. It is manifest. It is real, and the explosive, beautiful and imaginative expressions of these artists is a testament to just how excited our generation is about the times to come. The environment was one of three themes that the exhibit focuses on. Below are some of my favorite ones. I'll add in a bunch more on Trendhunter when I get the chance:

 

 

 This collage is made from old license plates from all 50 states.

Retro Americana style political statements about financial and environmental prosperity.