Nurses battling coronavirus will benefit from Portland artist’s poster inspired by war effort
portland artist Wonder knack got inspiration.
Ben Wood made a campaign of it.
You can see the result on one of 30 digital billboards in and around Portland. Or, you can go to the site “Save lives, stay at home” and buy for $ 20 a poster designed by Knack to support frontline healthcare workers in the coronavirus crisis.
“It’s kind of organically grown,” says Wood, managing director of Morel Ink.
Wood set up a nonprofit to manage the money and make sure it goes directly to the Oregon Nurses Association, the Washington State Nurses Association, and a fund set up for PeaceHealth workers. who have contracted the coronavirus.
This is the poster created by Portland artist Wonder Knack used in a fundraising campaign for frontline healthcare workers. (Save lives stay home)
Wood obtained materials for the posters donated by West Coast Paper. MEK Design to create the website. Pacific Outdoor Advertising to get the message across on billboards.
Knack didn’t see all of this coming when she created her poster. She says she has been moved by the plight of health workers around the world as they battle the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’ve always loved the design and style of WWI and WWII call to action propaganda posters,” she says. “It was definitely designed in that vein. I think it’s somewhat relevant to get people to act right now.
A friend of her husband’s is an emergency doctor in Virginia. She sent him the picture and put it on the Internet.
Wood saw it and loved the idea of mobilizing the country for this fight.
“It’s a powerful message,” he says. “Something about this jumped out at me. It spoke to me.
Local businesses such as Shine Distillery & Grill, which sells bottled spirits and hand sanitizer to customers, have agreed to sell the posters. The same goes for Green Zebra Grocery.
It all fell into place on the fly, even while Wood is also trying to run his business.
“I approached this issue with two objectives,” he says. “One of them was to say it’s a powerful message. I would love for people to buy the poster and hang it on their front window. That’s the message to the community – to remind everyone of the importance of this.
“And, secondly, I would like to raise funds to help these people. “
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Knack says she likes what’s going on.
“Sometimes art can grab people’s attention and inspire them to act in ways that other approaches can’t,” she says. “Originally, I just released it as a free download on the Internet.”
Well, sometimes a spark turns into a flame. The poster certainly caught Wood’s attention.
Knack and Wood hadn’t met before he contacted her and told her what was on his mind.
Now the poster has become a movement.
“Ben really took the plunge with fundraising and putting together a team to print the posters and distribute them,” Knack said. “It was awesome. The response has been fantastic.
– Ken Goé
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