"Get the Vote Out" - Stutz Gallery - Aug. 4, 2004 - 3 stars

A campaign by the American Institution of Graphic Arts to encourage voter turnout, "Get Out the Vote" is an exhibition of local and national poster competition entries. Only one image, the local competition winner entry by Terry Howe, really spoke to me as a graphic should. No other entry grabbed my attention or emotions with color or a strong pictorial scene and message as this one did. "For 80 years, an average of just over 50% of US residents have turned out to vote in presidential elections," the top of his poster reads. Red bar graphs (showing the stats over the last eighty years) form stripes that only go half way up a row of American flags. The literal interpretation of the stats in this design are more poignant because this one symbol of our freedoms isn't complete and in essence isn't realized by American citizens. It's a reminder that every vote does count and that everyone should exercise this freedom. All of the entries can be viewed at www.aiga.org/content.cfm/getoutthevote. Voter registration applications are available at the Stutz gallery. Through Aug. 20, 2004. 317-926-2980. – Mary Lee Pappas