By John Lewis (Baltimore Magazine, 4/21/2011)
As unlikely as it seems, Bob Hieronimus designed a campaign poster for William Donald Schaefer’s 1971 mayoral run. Pictured above, it was done with Schaefer’s blessing, and here’s an explanation, via Hieronimus, of how it came to be…
In 1969 artist Bob Hieronimus and a group of a dozen other young spiritual seekers moved into a rundown mansion in the Coldspring area of northwest Baltimore. They formed Savitria (“House of the Sun”) and the AUM Center, which was approved by the Maryland State Board of Education to offer certificates in religious metaphysics, occult science and mystic arts. Despite the admonition against getting involved in politics taught by the Western Mystery Tradition that was fostered at Savitria, Hieronimus couldn’t help but admire the President of the Baltimore City Council William Donald Schaefer when he sponsored the One Percent for Art clause in municipal building contracts. When he met Schaefer at a fundraiser and was asked to design a poster for his mayoral campaign, he agreed, despite the disapproval of the other leaders at Savitria.
Hieronimus was given total design freedom with the poster, and Schaefer showed his true mettle when he did not back down after seeing what Hieronimus came up with. He did not pause for a minute when he saw what the Baltimore Sun would call, “a highly unlikely political poster,” and promised to use it if he ran for office. In a story headlined “Aquarian Age Poster Enters Politics,” the Sun noted “The art of politics slipped into the fourth dimension this week.”
Continue reading “Bob Hieronimus’s Trippy Campaign Poster for William Donald Schaefer” at Baltimore Magazine.
Far out, man!