Republican organizers are better known for order and industry than for loosey-goosey self-expression. At their convention in Tampa, however, they encouraged hand-painted signs that signal the emotional truth of their message. Blake Gopnik, art critic at Newsweek and the Daily Beast, points out that the Occupy movement had used a similar strategy, and that the idea that crudeness equals authenticity has deep roots in our culture.
This gallery presents some of the choicest scrawls at the RNC.
Pages prepared signs before distributing them to delegates at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
Jae C. Hong / AP Photo
The crowd waves posters of support for Ann, the wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, during the Republican National Convention. Their "heart" motif derives from a famous ad campaign for the state of New York.
GOP signs waving on the third night of the 2012 Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. The hand-lettered mixes with the pre-printed.
A "We Built It" sign sits on the floor of the Republican National Convention in the Tampa Bay Times Forum on the night Mitt Romney was chosen as the republican presidential nominee. The handmade posters echo mass-produced ones.
A woman holds one of many signs that read "Women [heart] Ann" during the Republican National Convention.
Supporters holds up signs for Arizona Sen. John McCain during the Republican National Convention.
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/Brendan Smialowski, AFP / Getty images
A woman holds a sign that reads "Hispanics for Mitt" during the Republican National Convention in Tampa.
People hold campaign signs during the third day of the 2012 Republican National Convention. The equation of the crude and the authentic dates back at least to the age of William Blake.
Supporters hoist a poster as presidential candidate Mitt Romney and wife Ann appear on stage at the Republican National Convention.
A woman stands next to stacks of handmade campaign signs during the third day of the Republican National Convention.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty iages
