Creative Properties Licenses Obama Portrait –
Image Created by Avant Pop Artist Peter Mars
01/29/09
New York—In the afterglow of one of the most historic inaugurations in American history, Creative Properties is licensing a specially created image of President Barack Obama, painted by avant pop artist Peter Mars. The image, entitled “Audacity,” is available for licensing in most product categories, including stationery, apparel, fashion accessories and home goods.
The Chicago-based artist was inspired to create the portrait after closely following the election campaign and attending Obama’s victory speech in Grant Park on Election Night, a moving experience he found thrilling. “I worked for several months to get this portrait just right,” Mars says. “I felt challenged—called, if you will—to try to capture the feeling of the time, to try to tell in a single image what this felt like.” The TV in his studio was tuned in to the inauguration as Mars put the finishing touches on the 24x36 inch painting on canvas.
The Mars painting will be presented to the President by Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr, who represents parts of Chicago. Mars, renowned, for among things, his paintings of iconic American figures including Elvis Presley, plans to create additional works of art featuring President Obama’s image, which will be sold through galleries.
Peter Mars has been hailed as the leader of the avant pop movement, celebrating the melding of pop culture, consumerism and mass media, richly layered with an avant-garde sensibility of innovation. His work has been praised as “witty and excitingly of the moment” (New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper).
Mars is frequently asked to create original works of art for a wide range of high-profile corporations, events and exhibitions including Cows on Parade in Chicago and Cool Globes, a public exhibition presented in Chicago and San Francisco, created to raise awareness of global warming and Al Gore’s documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Mars also designed the cover and interior art for the fifth album of the rock band The Redwalls. His work is in the private collections of many prominent people, including Senator John McCain (R-AZ), His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Michael Jordan, and Sheryl Crow. Peter Mars artwork has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and the Late Show with David Letterman.
Creative Properties is seeking new partnerships with major global brands to create exclusive new lines of fine art featuring Mars’ interpretation of a company’s trademarks, characters or brands, to be sold through galleries. They will also be his representative when companies or individuals commission his artwork for corporate collections or advertising and to commemorate special events and anniversaries. Product categories for high-end, worldwide distribution might include fashion and accessories and home décor.