Ashcroft... You’re Next!
Micah WrightYou may think you’ve seen Micah Wright’s
posters before, possibly in World War II
history books or period movies, because he
pilfers actual vintage posters and retrofits
them with caustic new slogans. For
example, there’s one of a Statue of Liberty
pointing her accusing finger (originally
designed as an attack on Nazism), with the
updated headline, “You, Stop Asking
Questions! You’re Either With Us or You
Are With the Terrorists,” while another
shows a classic Uncle Sam in rolled-up
shirtsleeves (originally anti-Japanese
propaganda) with the headline,
“Ashcroft... You’re Next! Break Our
Constitution, I Break Your Face,” and yet
another shows attacking GIs (originally a
D-Day message) bearing the words
“Attack Attack Iraq: Another War Will Surely Pull Us Out Of Recession!”
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prompt a nostalgic twinge, yet hit a current nerve about homeland security
and the second war in the Gulf.
Wright is a writer for television, film, animation, and comics, and
recently has become an “amateur graphic designer.” While he admits his
limitations—“I usually work with a skilled artist on my mainstream media
work because realizing on paper whatever image is in my head (via my own
hands) is a skill I am sorely lacking”—thanks to user-friendly graphics
programs, he is now the producer of a new kind of old-time agitprop.
Since Wright started his “propaganda project” on June 10, 2002,he
has made about twenty digital posters per month. Drawing from a plethora
of World War II propaganda posters and the occasional advertising image
(e.g., by A. M. Cassandre), he writes new slogans (many under the auspices
of the satiric “Ministry of Homeland Security”) and slightly alters the
images. “Sometimes I do this with real paint, other times with Photoshop,
depending on the difficulty of the image retouching,” he explains. “It’s
given me a sense of accomplishment that simply art-directing other artists48