One of my favorite websites is the Museum of the Moving Image's online exhibit, The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2008. Look for Lyndon B. Johnson's Peace Little Girl (Daisy) commercial from 1964, Ronald Reagan's Peace commercial from 1984, and George W. Bush's Dangerous World commercial from 2000. Compare and contrast. What was your emotional response to these commercials? What strategies or tactics did these commercials use to inspire patriotism and voting? Why do you think they chose to depict children in these commercials?
Mount Rushmore, 1927-1941, near Keystone, South Dakota, Sculpted by Gutzon Borglum and his son Lincoln Borglum, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. The artist says "The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States. (source)" These portrait sculptures are about 60 feet tall!
Parson Weems' Fable, 1939, by Grant Wood at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth. This shows the classic (and NOT true!) story of George Washington chopping down the cherry tree. Parson Weems wrote this story to show the honesty of GW. He shows up in the painting as the narrator in front. Recognize that boy's head? See the next artwork and compare!
The iconic Hope poster from Obama's 2008 campaign. Artist Shepard Fairey created this print to sell on the street. It became instantly famous and became the token image for Obama's campaign. The original is now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery in DC.