Pillars of Democracy
Pillars of Democracy is a four-part series of large-scale mixed media collages that foreground the role of women in the democratic process, the struggle inherent in political progress, and the integral role of artists in movements for change. Featuring the allegorical figures Liberty, Justice, Freedom, and Forward—each featuring the face of a first-time voter in Wisconsin—the portraits are built from scrap stencil paper and spent spray paint used in the 2020 installation of Voting Rights Are Human Rights by Shepard Fairey, and shaped by Bertha Boyd’s 1911 suffrage poster Votes for Women.
By blending Boyd’s historic format with Fairey’s materials and the talent of Milwaukee’s artists, voters and dedicated volunteer community, the work challenges viewers to reconsider who embodies our national ideals—and how those ideals are constructed, tested, and renewed. Grounded in Wisconsin’s natural landscape and political legacy, each figure reflects how democratic values are lived and defended at the local level. Pillars of Democracy reminds us that democracy is not abstract—it’s built, sustained, and strengthened by people, right where they are.
The project began with an instinct: recognizing the symbolic power embedded in the stencil scraps discarded during Fairey’s mural installation. I salvaged the materials, stored them in my attic, and waited for their meaning to take shape. That moment arrived in early 2024, just before the presidential election, when the vision for a community-based artwork began to crystallize.
I sketched the idea, shared it with Shepard, and invited Milwaukee-based artists whose work I admire—Lois Bielefeld, Nova Czarnecki, Celeste Contreras, Jill Sebastian, and Brandom Terres-Sanchez—to collaborate. With the help of friends and community networks, I located four first-time voters to embody each pillar. A public call for volunteers soon followed, and over nine months, more than 50 people—ranging from Girl Scouts to League of Women Voters members—joined us in the studio, sorting materials, working with the paper, and building community.
Throughout the process, the focus remained on harmony: between artistic voices, across generations, and within the collaborative experience. Photographer Lois Bielefeld documented key moments, from early meetings to a Girl Scouts visit and the unveiling of Liberty on the eve of the 2024 election. Artists Fran Korthof, Lizzy Lovas, and Serena Wiets joined the team as the project moved into 2025.
From its inception, Pillars of Democracy was driven by a belief in the power of shared civic action. Thanks to the support of local artists, dedicated volunteers, and organizations including Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, the PERSISTers, the League of Women Voters and the Girl Scouts, this work became more than a series of portraits—it became a participatory act of democracy itself.
The following writing covers the meaning and making of Pillars of Democracy.
Inception - Fall 2020
In October 2020, Shepard Fairey and the Obey Giant team installed a 7,400-square-foot mural titled Voting Rights Are Human Rights on the north wall of Milwaukee’s Colby Abbot building. At its center is a portrait of a young African American man—based on a 1960s civil rights march photo by Steve Schapiro—surrounded by artwork and imagery provided by five artists with ties to Wisconsin: Tom Jones, Dyani White Hawk, Tyanna Buie, Claudio Martinez, and myself. Through collaborative dialogue and shared design drafts, our work was woven into a unified mural that spoke to the urgency of democracy and representation.
“Voting Rights Are Human Rights” by Shepard Fairey on the north wall of the Colby Abbot building in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Voting Rights are Human Rights mural was originally part of a national tour to support the 2020 election season. In a financial reaction to the COVID pandemic, the largest corporate sponsor had to withdraw, cancelling the tour; however, Fairey remained committed to installing the Milwaukee mural. Fairey stated, “The impetus for this project was rooted in activism and advocacy. Although the original pre-COVID funding of the project was stripped away due to the pandemic, it remains a goal of mine to work within the community of Milwaukee to lift up the urgent message of democracy and voting. We were able to get commitments for funding to cover the costs of travel and materials needed. I will donate my art, time and pay collaborators and my art team to work with me on painting the piece.”
“We are facing voter suppression in many places in the nation, but I especially wanted to address that issue with my mural in Wisconsin since voter suppression has been such a problem in the state,” Fairey noted.
Obey Giant team installing mural.
While supporting the mural team on-site, my eyes kept being drawn to the bags tied to the scaffolding that were being filled with discarded stencil paper and spent spray cans. While technically they were trash bags, their content felt anything but inert. The remnants carried a residual potential, infused with the labor of the team, the intention of the mural and the outcome of a major election.
As the install wrapped up, I asked the team if I could take the bags. I explained that I’m a bit of a coyote when it comes to scavenging materials, and that I felt their contents held potential for new work. I said I’d be in touch if the right idea surfaced. I was told to go for it, and then was warned to watch out for razor blades. So that winter, I put on a pair of thick rubber gloves and sorted their contents-- tossing trash and razor blades, holding onto all of the stencil paper, spray cans and installation materials.
For me, materials are not passive elements; they carry memory, presence, and emotional resonance. Much of my practice involves working in this liminal space—pre-language, pre-narrative—where meaning is felt before it can be fully articulated. I see my role as an artist as being a kind of steward, channeling the affective quality of materials from one context to another, reshaping their history through reuse, upcycling, and transformation.
Envisioning a better nation - Summer 2024
In August 2024, I had the honor of exhibiting my works Hills & Valleys and Justice in Repose (RBG) as part of INTO ACTION 2024—a national pro-democracy exhibition held during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Billed as a festival of art and ideas, INTO ACTION 2024 highlighted the power of voting through bold, thought-provoking work by over 120 visual artists from across the country. The weeklong event unfolded in a 9,000-square-foot gallery space and featured more than 20 hours of programming, including film screenings, performances, and conversations with political leaders, youth activists, filmmakers and fellow artists. Free and open to all 18 and older, the space served as a vibrant hub for dialogue, creativity, and civic engagement.
It was an incredible experience to exhibit among so many of my art heroes and work with Yosi Sergent and Evan Cerasoli through the run of the show. They provided a 33’ wall for my two pieces right in the center of the exhibition space next to a large display of Michelle Pred’s activist handbags, around the corner from a gridded set of Shepard Fairey’s artworks, prints by John Fleissner, a large wall piece by Swoon, prints by For Freedoms, photos by Whitney Bradshaw , embroidered works by Diana Weymar and so many many more. It was incredible to behold the conversation our combined efforts created. From the other exhibiting artists, to the curatorial team, to the installation crew to the wildly receptive audience-- I felt like my work had finally found its people.
While in Chicago, I joined a cohort of cultural producers from swing states, brought together by INTO ACTION 2024 for a few days of focused dialogue. Our goal: to share perspectives on the political climate in our communities and explore creative ways to inspire voter engagement ahead of the election. The group was a dynamic mix of DJs, rappers, tattoo artists, curators, community organizers, and artists. Though the programming was loosely structured, the energy was undeniable. Around every table, ideas were buzzing—strategies for voter registration, outreach, and mobilization were taking shape in real time.
We shared meals, drinks, and stories. We walked the streets of Chicago and caught cabs across the city, talking, listening, and learning from each other. The charge we left with was clear: return home, connect deeply, and engage our communities in bold, imaginative ways—to get people registered, inspired, and ready to vote.
The vision for Pillars of Democracy came to me during that powerful week in Chicago. Between the artworks on the walls, dialogue between activists and audiences, and engagement of the community that came to participate in it all, the energy flowed. I stood among feminists of all identities, united in purpose, united in our mission to see a woman of color elected as US President. It was in the midst of all of this, I saw democracy embodied not in monuments or mottos, but as first-time voters. Lady Liberty, Justice, Freedom and Forward became living pillars—united and empowered as everyday women in Wisconsin.
Materials & Design - fall 2024
The vision for Pillars of Democracy came to me on a drive between Milwaukee and Chicago during INTO ACTION 2024. Four foundational ideals—Liberty, Justice, Freedom, and Forward—appeared to me as first-time voters. It was a clear moment of recognition, one that immediately called up the materials I knew I would use. It also felt like the right time to reignite the conversation Shepard Fairey and his team sparked in Wisconsin in 2020 about the power and urgency of the vote—especially in light of the deepening threats to democracy in 2024.
Shortly after, I emailed Shepard with a sketch of Liberty, a list of Milwaukee-based artists I hoped to involve, and a proposal to repurpose the scraps leftover from the Voting Rights Are Human Rights mural. Since the materials originated in his project, his support was essential. He gave it without hesitation. (And yes, I had held onto those bags of stencil paper and spray cans for four years, trusting the right idea would come).
There were eleven bags filled with paper, spray cans, adhesive cans and other materials from the mural install to draw from.
For those unfamiliar with my work, I create art that engages with themes of identity and equity, with the intention of interrogating the structural power systems that shape contemporary life. Grounded in feminist perspectives, my practice aims to create space for critical reflection and hopefully ignite renewed commitments to social justice and collective responsibility within my audience.
I am more aware now than ever of how fragile personal freedom can be—especially in the face of rising fascism and the encroachment of conservative religious doctrine in public life across the United States. I speak from the vantage point of someone who claims full membership in American society—whose bodily autonomy, identity, and freedom are not up for debate. Through my art, I process both the disenchantment I feel and the hope I continue to hold for this nation. Art is both my teacher and my voice.
Much of my artwork is composed of hundreds—sometimes thousands—of individual parts, requiring tens, even hundreds, of hours to complete. I see each piece as an evolution of thought, where the time spent making is essential for a full synthesis of concept and material. Meaning in my artwork emerges through the deliberate pairing of my own intentions with the cultural significance embedded in the materials I use.
The cultural significance of the scrap materials used in the installation of Voting Rights Are Human Rights are easy to recognize. These scraps —mostly torn paper, paint-stained, and marked by paint splatter or grid coordinates scrawled in ink— hold traces of the mural’s creation. They are physical remnants of action—proof that something was made with urgency, purpose, and collective intent.
Aesthetically, the layered spray paint, cut edges, and smudges evoke immediacy and labor. This scrap speaks to hands at work, of bodies traversing scaffolding, of the week in 2020 when this image was painted into the public sphere with determination. The materials look disposable, but they hold echoes of the political messages they helped transmit—justice, resistance, solidarity. Their affective power comes from being byproducts of activism, and carries its residue.
When integrated into a new artwork, these materials maintain connection to their origin, inviting viewers to imagine both the shared labor of Obey Giant installing the mural in 2020, as well the community of artists and volunteers building the portraits of Liberty, Justice, Freedom and Forward in 2025. The materials become artifacts: not polished symbols of resistance, but its tactile memory. By preserving and repurposing these materials in an artwork, we amplify their meaning, transforming what was once a utilitarian tool into an affective aspect of a new artwork.
Another intregal source informing Pillars of Democracy, is the 1911 suffrage poster titled Votes for Women by Bertha Boyd. I was drawn to the clarity of this iconic poster’s design and elegant simplicity.
In Votes for Women, Boyd’s figure stands before the San Francisco Bay with the sun behind her, forming a halo around her head. She holds a banner that reads with assertive clarity. This design reflects the organized nature of the suffrage movement—its message is direct, uncluttered, and urgent. Imagery like this aimed to normalize the idea of women voting, project professionalism and unity, and spark curiosity and conversation. In 1911, voting rights were being fought state by state, and posters like Boyd’s were essential tools for mobilizing support, advertising events, and claiming public space for women’s voices—even though the artist herself had not yet been granted the right to vote.
When drawing the preliminary sketches for Pillars of Democracy, I knew the figures of Liberty, Justice, Freedom, and Forward needed to be pictured in Wisconsin, as this state holds a unique legacy of progressive firsts that continue to shape our national identity. Each figure was intentionally placed in a specific Wisconsin landscape to reflect both the natural diversity of the region and the spirit of democratic action rooted here:
Liberty rises at dawn in Milwaukee, Lake Michigan behind her and the city’s skyline woven across her robe—symbolizing the awakening of civic power in our urban centers.
Justice stands in the light of midday at Lake Winnebago, her robe patterned with woodland violets, flanked by fields of wheat and corn—honoring the balance of labor, equity, and growth in our agricultural heartland.
Freedom, cloaked in fur, hovers at dusk above the deep waters of Lake Superior and the surrounding northern forests—echoing the resilience and endurance of people and place.
Forward glows at night on the shores of Lake Monona, draped in an American flag, encircled by native flora and fauna—guiding us into the future with care for both democracy and the environment.
These icons of democracy belong in Wisconsin because this state has long served as a testing ground for progress. It was the first to ratify the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, the first to pass an unemployment compensation law, the first to establish a statewide gay rights law, and the first to elect an openly gay Congresswoman. And today, Wisconsin continues that legacy by electing a second Supreme Court Justice in a row committed to fair maps and reproductive justice. These actions shine as a beacon of hope in a time of deep uncertainty—proof that, even now, Wisconsin is lighting the way forward for the rest of the nation.
Living Icons - Voters in America Today
Liberty, Justice, Freedom, and Forward are concepts historically personified as women in American art and political symbolism worldwide—figures draped in allegory, often distant and idealized. But what happens when we ground those ideals in real people, in our neighbors, in our community?
By portraying four women living in the Milwaukee area as living embodiments of these democratic principles, the work invites viewers to recognize those same values—strength, integrity, courage, and vision—within themselves. The dichotomy between the lofty sentiment of these symbolic figures and the lived experience of everyday women becomes a bridge rather than a divide. These portraits aim to empower, to show that the future of our democracy begins here, in the communities we know, with the people around us.
First-time voters hold the key to that future. Their participation marks both a personal milestone and a collective step forward. To find the right participants, I reached out to my network of friends and soon met Lola, Becca, Anna, and Courtney, the first four to respond to my call.
After photographing and getting to know each of them a bit better, I chose who would represent each figure based on what they shared about their lives, their families, and their personal aspirations.
Liberty is represented by Lola, who immigrated to the U.S. with her family three years before this project began. She’s the youngest in her family, a talented illustrator, and just completed her freshman year at Marquette University, where she’s studying environmental engineering. Her ambition and creativity, paired with her experience of navigating a new country, reflect the dynamic possibilities of liberty in action.
Justice is embodied by Becca, whose grandparents came to the U.S. as migrant farmworkers, eventually settling in Wisconsin to raise their family. Becca now works as a bartender and house painter, raising her young son with her fiancé. She’s also passionate about advocating for girls with Alopecia, offering confidence and solidarity drawn from her own experience. Her story speaks to both generational resilience and a deep personal commitment to justice and representation.
Freedom is personified by Anna, a recent graduate of Shorewood High School and a standout athlete in track and field. Her strength, discipline, and readiness to leap into adulthood made her a natural choice to represent this pillar.
Forward is represented by Courtney, the valedictorian of Saint Francis High School’s graduating class of 2025. Headed to Cornell University on a full scholarship this fall, Coutney’s drive and academic success symbolize the forward motion we all hope to see in this country’s future.
Together, these women transform the traditional, often mythologized images of Liberty, Justice, Freedom, and Forward into something more grounded and urgent. They are not distant goddesses but real people living in Wisconsin—iconic in their own right. In this way, the Pillars of Democracy becomes both a modern-day allegory and a powerful reminder that national values are built by real people at the local level everyday.
Democracy as ART - Art As Action
By combining the format of Bertha Boyd’s 1911 suffrage poster with materials salvaged from Shepard Fairey’s Voting Rights Are Human Rights mural, Pillars of Democracy creates a layered dialogue between past and present—bridging more than a century of voting rights activism. This fusion of historic form and contemporary material anchors the legacy of resistance in something tangible and immediate. The result is a visual and conceptual conversation across time, reminding us that the fight for democracy is ongoing, cumulative, and collective.
Through this synthesis, Pillars of Democracy connects traditions of resistance through both design and era, highlighting the essential role women have played—and continue to play—in shaping American democracy. Boyd’s original poster was a tool of political mobilization, wheat-pasted in shop windows, train stations, and meeting halls to spark dialogue and galvanize support. Similarly, this project uses art to call attention, create space for reflection, and move people toward action.
By weaving together historic imagery, contemporary activist materials, and the contributions of Milwaukee-area artists, Pillars of Democracy becomes both witness and participant in an evolving civic story—one defined by community, shared effort, and forward motion. From suffragists in the early 20th century to muralists in 2020 and first-time voters in 2024, this project ties together fragments of resistance to reflect the truth that democracy is not static. It is an unfinished project, shaped by those who show up, speak out, and most importantly—vote.
Pillars of Democracy affirms that vision must continually become action—again and again.
Installation - A Compass Rose
When Pillars of Democracy is displayed in the four directions following the path of the sun, the four figures form a compass rose, illuminating Liberty, Justice, Freedom and Forward as defining values that guide this nation. As each figure features the portrait of a first time voter, voting is lifted as the action we all must take to navigate this democracy towards a better future.
Teamwork: Artists, Volunteers & Voters
From the very beginning, I wanted to root this project in the community. Following the first request for volunteers on social media, they began to arrive in waves—sometimes in groups, sometimes on their own—but always with great energy: ready to jump in, improvise, solve problems, and be part of something collective. The studio quickly became more than just a workspace; it turned into a meeting ground where people from across the city came together to talk, work with their hands, and contribute to a shared vision. Conversations moved between stencil strategies and voter registration efforts, grandkids and upcoming elections. It was both focused and flexible—a place where art and activism were happening at the same table.
The first major group effort was unwrapping and flattening the scrap paper from the bags, which—despite sounding simple—was no small task. But once people found the rhythm, the studio began to hum. As materials were sorted by color and texture, the contributing artists selected what they needed—sometimes working onsite, sometimes taking supplies back to their own studios to build individual components of the portraits.
I began constructing the panels, mapping out the compositions, and meeting with artists and photographing first time voters before experimenting with the paper. My first version of Liberty’s robe—made from strips of overspray—was scrapped, along with the first draft of sun rays. This trial-and-error phase eventually led to a more expansive method: using leftover spray paint directly on panels or paper to introduce a range of textures and tones pulled directly from the source materials.
Jill Sebastian, a renowned creative force in Milwaukee, offered her studio for the initial buildout and then contributed intricate perspective drawings and expertly collaged pieces to the backgrounds of the portraits.
As the work progressed, the community around it kept growing. In early December, a few volunteers joined me outdoors to spray base layers while the weather allowed. The project then moved to my second floor studio where the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin from the Milwaukee and Ozaukee/Waukesha chapters—became a regular presence, sometimes bringing up to twelve volunteers at a time. The Girl Scouts joined in too— and Troop 10543 even earned their Democracy badges while building the night sky for Freedom. So very cool.
We adjusted constantly. Elements were created, reconsidered, and rebuilt. Robes were assembled and reassembled. Dresses sanded off and repainted. Backgrounds reworked. Water re-patterned. Color and shadows adjusted. The process was both iterative and improvisational, shaped by the delicate harmony beginning to build between figure and background; between one portrait and all four together. The artists remained flexible and dedicated. The volunteers brought insight, humor and so many hours of production. In the final weeks, the PERSISTers joined the buildout, widening the circle of support even further.
At every stage, this was a project built by community. The layered contributions—of artists, activists, students, neighbors, new voters and poll workers—brought this project so much depth and momentum. I’m truly grateful to all who trusted and believed in the process and helped carry it forward.
Contributing Artists
Lois Bielefeld
Lois Bielefeld is a contemporary photographer and multidisciplinary artist based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Their work blends fine art photography, video, audio, and installation, often focusing on themes of identity, ritual, family, queerness, and the complexity of everyday life. Through thoughtful, often intimate visual storytelling, Bielefeld invites viewers to consider how people shape—and are shaped by—their surroundings, relationships, and personal routines.
Since last September of 2024, Lois has brought their camera to the studio to help capture the story of the making of Pillars of Democracy.
Celeste Contreras
Celeste Contreras is a Mexican-American artist whose work combines painting, community engagement, public art, and activism, often focusing on themes of identity, cultural memory, and social justice. Her visual language is rooted in Chicana feminist traditions, exploring the interplay between personal narrative, ancestral heritage, and collective healing. Her prints and drawings often contain icons, patterns, animals, and plants, layered with meaning and reflective of indigenous cosmology and spiritual tradition. She often uses her art to process grief, intergenerational trauma, and the path to spiritual resilience. Contreras leads art workshops, healing circles, and public projects centering youth and marginalized voices. She is committed to art as a tool for transformation, especially within BIPOC communities.
Celeste’s block prints, featuring miniature portraits and ceremonial iconography, are embedded in each figure’s robe: forming the Milwaukee skyline on Liberty, evoking fabric in Justice and Forward, and creating fur-like textures in Freedom.
Nova Czarnecki
Nova Czarnecki is a contemporary American artist known for creating richly layered, symbolic, and often surreal figurative paintings. Her paintings blend elements of mythology, nature, feminism, and identity, rendered in a style that merges realism with dreamlike abstraction. Full of metaphorical content, with recurring themes like rebirth, cycles, or transformation, her figures and settings frequently seem to exist outside of linear time—evoking dream states or ancient archetypes. Nature is omnipresent and interwoven with the human form. She paints mostly in oil on canvas or panel, using a palette that ranges from muted natural tones to vibrant, saturated hues, depending on the emotional or narrative quality of the work.
Nova created detailed oil paintings of each figure’s face and hands, working from photographs of the four first-time voters. Once complete, her painted elements were carefully trimmed from their original canvases, and collaged into the larger mixed media portraits—bringing realism, warmth, and individuality to each figure.
Fran Korthof
Fran Korthof is an artist, activist and retired public school art teacher from the Elmbrook School District in Wisconsin. Over her thirty year teaching career, Korthof encouraged creative exploration and individual expression in her students, helping them to balances technical skill-building with open-ended projects. Korthof currently volunteers at Art Links 333, a hub for creative expression and community engagement for adults with disabilities, and is a former board member and chair of Artful Bowls- a major fundraiser for the organization.
Fran came to the studio to volunteer, and took the challenges of this project to another level. She became the lead artist interpreting Brandom Terres- Sanchez’s sketches and creating elaborate paper collage pieces to support his final drawings.
Lizzy Lovas
Lizzy Lovas is a Senior Art Director at Kohl’s, who creates work that balances strategic visual storytelling with a strong sense of aesthetic intuition and cultural awareness. Her portfolio spans branding, editorial design, advertising, and creative direction— often for clients in sectors like fashion, arts, publishing, and wellness. Lovas wears many hats, but her favorites being hand lettering, logo design, layout, and book design.
Lizzy contributed type design to the banners each figure holds in Pillars of Democracy, providing a unifying design which reads with clarity uniting 100+ years of activist print.