Art the Vote billboards urge voter registration

By Eva Dou

Published Sept. 9, 2008

A giant squid holding the U.S. hostage with gas pump nozzles. A mourning dove with a broken egg. Captain America being pulled in two directions by unidentified arms.

These provocative billboard designs were unveiled Friday in Columbia and six other Missouri cities, all with the message, "Vote: Your future depends on it."

With these images, members of Art the Vote hope to spur voters to consider the issues and turn out at the polls on Nov. 4.

"We wanted to get artists engaged in the election," Art the Vote co-founder Sue McCollum said of how the group hit upon the idea. "The billboards serve as a canvas for that to happen."

Four Missouri artists and four from out-of-state were enlisted to design the billboards, which spotlight topics like immigration, the environment and women's reproductive rights. Art the Vote chose most of the billboard designers, but one artist, Karen Kay of Kansas City, was selected by popular vote online.

The Missouri artists include Tom Huck of St. Louis, and Kansas City artists Peregrine Honig, May Tveit and Kay. Out-of-state artists are Martha Rosler of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Willie Cole of Newark, N.J.; Annette Lemieux of Brookline, Mass.; and Mark Newport of Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Young voters, who are the main target, have traditionally underperformed in election-day turnout, Art the Vote co-founder Bunny Burson said.

"I think it's a great way to get young voters to register," Burson said. "We'll be reaching a lot of them. Across the state, around 2 million people a day will be seeing these billboards."

Burson is an artist and Democrat. Her husband was chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore in 1999. The Missouri Billboard Project, the organization behind the Art the Vote initiative, is registered as a 527 group, meaning it can advocate for issues but not candidates.

"It's all about issues, not candidates or parties," Burson said.

To symbolize a nonpartisan meld of red and blue, she wore a purple jacket to the "Purple Friday" billboard unveiling event at the Missouri Theater Center of the Arts in Columbia. The emphasis on nonpartisanship carried to the purple balloons festooning the room, as well as customized purple M&Ms inscribed with "Art the Vote," available for attendees.

Donation records, however, show a more partisan tint.

Burson and McCollum each contributed $4,600, the maximum allowed, to Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign last year, according to the Federal Election Commission. McCollum also donated $2,300 to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign, under the name "Susan McCullum."

McCollum said her political affiliations and those of other members do not affect the nonpartisan effort to get out the vote.

"What I do as an individual is not reflective of Art the Vote," she said.

The Art the Vote campaign cost $120,000, which McCollum said was raised through individual donations.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, both McCollum and Burson contributed large amounts of money to the funds. McCollum personally contributed $15,000, and Burson $60,000, out of a total $219,181 the group has raised since January. McCollum's consulting company, McCollum and Associates, contributed $15,000.

All of the artists, except for the online contest winner Kay, are listed as donating in kind, totaling $59,900.

The majority of the remaining donations come from individuals in St. Louis.

Regardless of the funding source, the art initiative will likely catch the attention of students, MU sophomore Woody Smelser said. Smelser attended the event as an ambassador of the Associated Students of the University of Missouri.

"I'm very impressed by the billboards," he said. "Each one represents special interests, but most touch on issues that everyone can relate to in some manner."

Until November, 70 Art the Vote billboards are on display near the highways of Columbia, St. Louis, Kansas City, Cape Girardeau, Springfield, Hannibal and Kirksville. Around a dozen are in the Columbia area, according to the Art the Vote Web site.

To find a billboard near you, visit artthevote.com.