The Obama Presidential Inaugural Committee has unveiled its official commissioned Inauguration poster designed by Los Angeles based artist Shepard Fairey.  The style of the design is similar to Fairey’s ubiquitous “Hope” and “Progress” posters for Obama found almost everywhere you looked during last year’s Presidential campaign.

Fairey who made his bones with the famous “Giant” / “Obey” street art in the 1990’s has come a long way from the countercultural, graffiti oriented campaigns of yesteryear into making the stylistically almost tongue-in-cheek government propaganda art of today.  His selection as a top designer for Obama’s poster campaigns demonstrates a level of taste by a political organization not seen since I don’t know when.  As a friend of mine put simply during the campaign last year, “For once, we might actually have a cool President.”

Currently the posters are being sold online to help fund the enormous cost of the Inauguration festivities.  Regular posters are available for $100 a pop and limited edition ones signed by Fairey are going for $500.  You can takepart in allaying some of the costs of the Inauguration from the city of Washington DC, which is expecting record shattering crowds for the event, by logging onto the Obama Inauguration website and getting yourself a little piece of design history.