When you look up in the sky while driving Missouri’s highways during the next few weeks, don’t be surprised if you see something unusual.
You won’t catch a glimpse of Superman. But you may encounter a giant squid brandishing gas pump nozzles like a six-shooter, Captain America or a field of sunflowers — all super-sized images with one central message: to encourage Missourians, particularly younger people, to register and vote in the November election.
Featuring the work of eight contemporary artists, 70 billboards with the message “Vote: Your Future Depends On It” began appearing across Missouri early this month.
Look for the billboards on major highways and in cities across the state, including Kansas City.
The billboards are sponsored by Art the Vote, an initiative of the Missouri Billboard Project, a nonpartisan effort to encourage voting through art that draws attention to public policy issues.
To see all the billboard artwork and for more information, go to www.artthevote.com.
The billboard images, sometimes subtle, sometimes provocative, reflect the artists’ thoughts on many of the key issues facing our state and nation, including fuel prices, the environment and the war.
The billboards were created by seven nationally renowned artists and the winner of an online billboard competition. Four of the artists are Missourians: Tom Huck, Peregrine Honig, May Tveit and competition winner Karen Kay. The other artists — Annette Lemieux, Willie Cole, Mark Newport and Martha Rosler — are known for their political artwork.
In many respects, young voters have the most at stake in an election because they will live the longest with the consequences of any particular administration’s decisions.
Yet, as an age-based voting bloc, they don’t act like it. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the 2006 election, only 22 percent of eligible voters, ages 18 to 24, voted. By contrast, 63 percent of adults 55 and older voted in 2006.
The goal of Art the Vote is to make this fall’s election interesting to young people and to make voting fashionable, hip, the thing to do.
In addition to the billboards, Art the Vote is coordinating voter registration activities at arts and cultural events throughout the state this fall.
The next time a giant squid grabs your attention, remember that Oct. 8 is the last day to register to vote in Missouri before the Nov. 4 election.
Register and vote: our future depends on it.
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