Interdisciplinary artist and professional designer Tamara McLean, a Temkin Exhibition Awardee, has produced a graphic to help support the UW–Madison School of Education’s get-out-the-vote efforts.
McLean is a third-year graduate student pursuing a master of fine arts degree through the School of Education’s Art Department.
“This work is created with the hope of inspiring young voters, especially undergraduates, to take action and make voting a lasting habit,” says McLean. “Voting is more than a civic duty; it’s your voice shaping the future, both for your own community and the larger world. For many of you, this election might be one of your first experiences at the polls — a crucial step in becoming engaged citizens.”
McLean’s work started last year as a teaching assistant for Art 346 — Basic Graphic Design. As part of an assignment called “Words Matter,” students were prompted to design social media campaigns for Instagram that reflected the words that mattered most to them, with McLean taking the opportunity to demo how a campaign around voting could be created. The finished work was created specifically for the School’s get-out-the-vote efforts.
When describing her artwork, McLean explains that “purple represents a neutral political stance. The motion blur image, taken in Madison, Wisconsin, placed in the background represents a sense of immediacy and urgency.”
The finalized design will not only live on in a variety of social media posts, but the work of art will also exist as an 18-inch by 25-inch archivally printed image on aluminum.
“The industrial material quality — juxtaposed with the graphic simplicity of the word ‘VOTE’ alongside the violet and bejeweled aesthetic — is quite a contemporary motif that profoundly resonates,” says Leslie Smith III, a professor and chair of the Art Department.
To learn much more about McLean and her work, visit tamaramclean.com. Check her out on Instagram @tamaramclean.art
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5
Check out the BadgersVote website for help deciding where and when you’ll vote. In-person absentee registration and voting is available through Friday, Nov. 1, at four locations across campus. It is available through Sunday, Nov. 3, at other locations across Madison. Register and vote on Nov. 5 at your assigned polling places. Look up your assigned polling place and find Wisconsin eligibility requirements, voter ID requirements, and links to requirements in other states.