NPC in History: The Club press conference that launched a campaign icon

This iconic 2008 Obama campaign poster started life at the National Press Club in June 2006.

Actor George Clooney held a press conference to talk about the war in Darfur, where he and his father, journalist Nick Clooney, had recently visited. Then-Sen. Barrack Obama took part, and photos of Clooney and Obama together are in three places in the Club. They rank among the Club’s most memorable photos.

But that’s not what this image is about. At the same press conference, an Associated Press freelance photographer by the name of Mannie Garcia captured this pose, Obama’s head tilted at just the right angle to make him look inspirational. And that might have been the end of it.

Two years later, as the presidential race heated up, artist Shepard Fairey was searching for an image of Obama he could turn into a campaign poster. He found a photo using Google Image Search, and in one day he created this collage -- stencil and acrylic on paper. Originally, he had used the word “PROGRESS” under Obama’s image. The Obama campaign embraced the image but said its message was “hope.” Fairey made the change.

Fairey wanted the image to go viral, and he succeeded. Campaign supporters and grassroots organizations distributed tens of thousands of T-shirts, posters and small stickers. A free downloadable graphic generated countless more repetitions. It was so much in demand that copies signed by Fairey were purchased for thousands of dollars on eBay.

But the AP was not amused. It said it owned the copyright to the photo and it wanted recognition and compensation. Fairey countered that he could use the photo without compensating AP under the doctrine of fair use that allows artists to use copyright material in creating a new work of art.

The AP and Fairey settled out of court in January 2011. But Fairey also faced criminal action for destroying evidence during the case. Federal prosecutors sought prison time, but in the end, Fairey was fined $30,000 and required to do 300 hours of community service.

As for the much-parodied poster itself, Fairey’s hand-finished collage version of the image was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery in January 2009. It was donated by Heather and Tony Podesta, who had commissioned the piece and donated it to the museum to go on display in time for Obama’s Inauguration Day. Tony Podesta’s brother, John, was the co-chair of Obama’s transition team.

This is another in a series provided by Club historian Gil Klein. Dig down anywhere in the Club’s 110-year history, and you will find some kind of significant event in the history of the world, the nation, Washington, journalism and the Club itself. Many of these events were caught in illustrations that tell the stories.