MARK VALLEN pays homage to Egypt's revolution

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FREEDOM – 8.5 X 11 inch full color poster
Download a copy of the poster here (a .PDF file at 350 dpi resolution).

MARK VALLEN  [print_link]

Along with people all over the world, I have been profoundly inspired by the heroic Egyptian people’s struggle for democracy against the 30-year old U.S. backed dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak. As an expression of solidarity I created a digital artwork titled “Freedom,” so named because the word appears in my graphic in Arabic, Spanish, and English; my creation is dedicated to the people of Egypt, with hopes that their democratic aspirations will soon be realized.

I have published my artwork as a flyer-sized broadside meant to be distributed internationally. I invite one and all to download and print a free copy of my 8.5 x 11 inch full color artwork, which I hope will be used to advance the movement for true freedom and democracy. Please disseminate this artwork widely in the “not for profit” spirit in which it is offered.

I released my artwork on February 10, 2011, the very day Mubarak announced his refusal to resign. The hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s Liberation Square reacted to Mubarak’s pronouncement with furious chants of “The people demand the fall of the regime!” Just prior to the dictator’s address, President Obama declared that “America will continue to do everything that we can to support an orderly and genuine transition to democracy in Egypt.” Clearly, it is time for President Obama to cut all U.S. military aid to the criminal Mubarak cabal.

My initial intention was to create my artwork as an oil painting on canvas, but this traditional way of working is laborious and slow, whereas events in Egypt have been moving at breakneck speed. I decided on producing a drawing using Photoshop with a digital drawing tablet equipped with a pressure sensitive pen. This allowed me to work quickly, and the software combination allowed me to replicate the look of actual brushes loaded with paint.

—MARK VALLEN is a contributing editor to The Greanville Post residing in Los Angeles.  Many of his political essays focusing on art, history and culture, and a sampler of his art, may be found on his blog ART FOR A CHANGE .