Designer of Obama 'Hope' Poster Paints Mural of His Young Daughter in East Village

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Shepard Fairey, the artist and designer who earned international fame with his iconic Barack Obama "Hope" poster, painted a massive mural this week of his young daughter on the side of an East Village building. The mural shows a classic Fairey interpretation of his daughter when she was 3 years old; she's now 11. Fairey painted his daughter in vivid, fiery colors like a ray of sunshine with a dove perched on her hand.

The name of the mural is 'Vivi La Revolucion,' a play on words for his daughter's name, Fairey told Patch in an email statement.

"The mural is basically just an urge for peace and a willingness to rise above our more destructive tendencies," Fairey wrote. "The mural is directly across from an elementary school so I thought it would be good for the mural to contain imagery that kids can relate to but I also think that anyone can relate to the innocence and idealism of youth. Most prejudices are learned and then need to be unlearned."

The mural at 177 First Ave. is meant to be a ray of positivity for children walking to and from school at P.S. 19, which is down the street at 185 First Ave.

"The location in the East Village is very close to where I spent a lot of time doing street art in New York in the 90's," Fairey wrote. "It's amazing to have a large more permanent piece in the neighborhood now."

Fairey worked with Wayne Rada's organization, Little Italy Street Art Collective (L.I.S.A.), on this mural, as well as on two murals in the past. The artist painted a mural on the side of 161 Bowery in 2014 and one on Houston Street in 2010, which became a problem when it was targeted with dozens of illegal graffiti tags.

Fairey told The New York Times in 2010 his works were often targeted by graffiti artists. "My plan is to maintain it the best that I can, but eventually it’s going to succumb to the forces of the streets," Fairey had said about his mural on Houston Street.

Photo credit: L.I.S.A. Project NYC