Yes We Can : Barack Obama book release party, powerHouse Arena - Music by DJ Disco Wiz

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The powerHouse Arena invites you to celebrate the launch of

Yes We Can:
Barack Obama’s History-Making Presidential Campaign
Photographs by Scout Tufankjian

Wednesday, January 14, 6-9PM,

The powerHouse Arena

37 Main Street, Brooklyn

For more information please call (718) 666-3049

RSVP: rsvp@powerhousearena.com

Music by The Legendary DJ Disco Wiz

Exhibition: January 8-February 8, 2009

Yes We Can is the story of Barack Obama’s historic, world-changing journey from junior Senator from Illinois to President of the United States of America as documented by Scout Tufankjian, the only independent photographer to cover his entire campaign from before he announced his run through the Election Night celebration in Chicago’s Grant Park.

Obama’s grassroots journey touched something profound in America, inspiring millions of Americans, young and old, rich and poor, and from every racial and ethnic background, bringing together disparate people throughout the electorate in the service of change. In the course of his visits to almost every state in the union, Obama electrified record-breaking crowds at his rallies and motivated millions of people to engage in the political process. The results have been nothing short of a revolution in political strategy, communication, and activism.

Be it a skeptical old farmer from Tama, Iowa, who was surprised to realize that he had something in common with this young black politician, or an eight-year-old boy from Los Angeles who couldn’t stop saying, “He looks like me and he is going to be President!”, Senator Obama instilled a feeling of unity and hope in a nation scarred by divisive politics and pessimism. Obama’s campaign created a movement, a faith, and a feeling that has not been present in American politics for decades—if ever.

Yes We Can is a comprehensive and intimate portrait of this world-changing campaign. With more than 200 color photographs by Tufankjian, the book takes the reader along on Obama’s personal and political journey. Tufankjian was there from the beginning.

From coffee shops and diners to auto manufacturing plants and bowling alleys, Tufankjian followed Obama as he wooed potential voters in expensive houses as well as in poverty-stricken Indian reservations. She covered the primaries, the debates, and the final weeks of the hard-fought campaign, shooting more than 12,000 images—the deepest, most comprehensive, and most personal portrait of the man and his run as well as of the people who came to see him, hear him, and vote for him. Yes We Can is as much about Americans and their hopes and visions for America as it is about the man that gave them voice.

Scout Tufankjian has had photographs published in every major newspaper and news magazine, including Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, People, The Guardian, ELLE, Esquire, Essence, Rolling Stone, Fortune, The Times of London, Stern, Der Spiegel, and many others. Before covering the Obama campaign, Tufankjian worked photographing the conflict in the Middle East, primarily the Gaza Strip, for four years. Tufankjian is represented by Polaris Images. She lives in Brooklyn, and has a B.A. in Political Science from Yale.

Luis “

DJ Disco Wiz” Cedeño, the first Latino hip hop DJ, is credited for being the first DJ to make a "mixed plate" in 1977 along with Grandmaster Caz. In the years since, Wiz has been an influential force in educating the world about the early years of hip-hop. Wiz was a major contributor in the opening of the Experience Music Project in Seattle in 2000, and was instrumental in the making of Jim Fricke and Charlie Ahearn's Yes Yes Y'all (Da Capo Press, 2002). His first book, It’s Just Begun, written with Ivan Sanchez will be released with Miss Rosen Editions/powerHouse Books in June 2009. Wiz was also featured in the Emmy-nominated VH1 Rock Doc NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell, and is the creator and founder of the Hip-Hop Meets Spoken Wordz series.

CURRENT EVENTS/POLITICS/HOPE

HC, 8.375 x 11 inches, 192 pages, 250 four-color photographs

ISBN 978-1-57687-504-9, $29.95

To preview the book please visit

http://www.powerhousebooks.com/book/1005

High-res scans to your specification are available upon request; scanning from the book or lifting images from the mechanical file are strictly prohibited. Mandatory credit line: from YES WE CAN: BARACK OBAMA’S HISTORY-MAKING PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, Photographs by Scout Tufankjian, published by Melcher Media/powerHouse Books.

For more information, please contact Sara Rosen, Publicity Director

powerHouse Books, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Tel: 212-604-9074 x105, Fax: 212-366-5247, email: sara@powerHouseBooks.com