The First Hundred Days
OF BARACK OBAMA'S PRESIDENCY
(2009)
Cindy Marsh Project Narrative Tuesday, January 20, 2009, began as a typical workday at the Goldsmith Press on the campus of Austin Peay State University. Late in the morning we turned on the radio to listen to Barack Obama’s inaugural address. Work in the studio came to a halt as everyone gathered around the radio, captivated by the clarity and purpose of the president’s words. When the address concluded, the printers in the room were eager to use our vast collection of wood type to honor this historic moment. The most genuine tribute we could offer was a commitment to handset and print the entire 2383-word speech with the Goldsmith Press Rare Type Collection. Detroit printer, Amos Kennedy arrived to help us begin the project. Together, with press manager, Susan Tomi McGolrick, we decided to print the address onto T-shirts, fabric squares, and 11x17” sheets of paper. Thankfully, Amos insisted on numbering the printing materials (in red ink) before we typeset the inaugural text. I divided the speech into 100 passages as Amos printed large background numerals onto the selected substrates. We decided to unveil the 100 inaugural T-shirts during a march of 100 students and faculty on the 100th day of Barack Obama’s presidency. Once our deadline was set, the real work began. Susan kept the type drawers and printed materials in order while I just kept printing and praying that we could deliver on our 100-day promise. Day and night for 3 ½ months, a band of students, faculty, area printers, and community members handset and printed every word of President Obama’s 2009 Inaugural Address April 30, 2009 (public announcement): In commemoration of President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office, a group of artists and edu-cators used the wood type collection @ the Goldsmith Press in Clarksville, TN. to hand-set and print (by letterpress) the president’s 2009 inaugural address on 100 T-shirts. Each T-shirt contained roughly 25 words of the 2383-word speech. Post Production Details “The First 100 Days” Project produced 20 paper portfolios and 2 complete sets of 100 T-shirts. Rebecca Chamlee / Pie in the Sky Press, fashioned the fabric squares into 10 sets of prayer flags that were distributed and installed at 10 educational sites on the West Coast. Project Director: Cynthia Marsh / founder Goldsmith Press & Rare Type Collection @ Austin Peay State University, Inspirational Partner: Amos Kennedy, Project Manager: Susan Tomi McGolrick 100 Days (Prayer Flags) Manager: Rebecca Chamlee Project Funding: Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts @ Austin Peay State University "First 100 Days” portfolio design and ongoing project support: Janine Wong and Paul Stroud "First 100 Days” book designed by Michael Fink produced by Cynthia Marsh, Studio One Eye Open
