Cleon Peterson Urges People to Vote in Upcoming US Elections Through Two Striking Banners
“Artwork is a powerful tool in political and social discourse.”
Power and politics have always been a study of Cleon Peterson. From the days of antiquity to the present day, the Los Angeles-based artist distills his subject matter to humanoid characters and graphic compositions that the artist believes reflects a cycle of corruption that has persisted throughout the history of civilization.
His latest work is arguably his most striking. In collaboration with the non-profit advocacy group, People for the American Way, Peterson has unveiled two new billboards titled, MAGA Republicans Want to Control Your Body and MAGA Republicans Want White Supremacists to Have Guns as part of the Georgia Art Project.
The two banners come days before the US midterm elections on November 8, which amongst many key races across the country, features a rematch between current Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who ran just four years ago and galvanized Georgian voters in a historic election, which saw the state flip blue for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Peterson’s art is a clear response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, along with the growing threats of gun violence, which Gun Violence Archive (GVA) reports that there has been over 37,000 deaths in the US in 2022 alone.
“Artwork is a powerful tool in political and social discourse,” Peterson told Hypebeast, whose art installations depicting White supremacist gun violence, and attacks on reproductive choice were rejected by billboard companies across Georgia. “These images are alarming and reflect truth sounding the radical rights policies that are already in action, and that will only get worse if people don’t vote,” he added.
Although the billboard companies have rejected displaying his art, Peterson and People for the American Way implore the public to share these messages by downloading the images via an online hub and voting on November 8.
