On one of my many trips to Disney World to draw/reportage, I was sitting in Liberty Square at The Magic Kingdom. I had previously looked up the Liberty Tree to see what kind of a symbol it was. Â Apparently the idea of a Liberty Tree came about in 1765 with “The Sons of Liberty” patriots in Boston. Â They were protesting the imposition of the Stamp Act on them by the British. Â So the Stamp Act was about stamped paper, stamp revenue and inalienable rights, a “knowledge tax.” Â It was all about taxing paper in the colonies. I thought it was ironic that the tax was all about paper and that paper is made from trees and that the protests were held under the Liberty Tree. Â Merchants, landowners and local protest groups were behind the protests. Â Almost every American town subsequently had a Liberty Tree. Â It is the living symbol of the American Freedom of Speech and Assembly.
It can be said that the Stamp Act protest was the impetus for the American Revolution to come. Â So, when I was sitting there looking at it I wondered what it would be like to create an ad campaign for a “merchant.” Â I decided it would be fun to make the campaign for GAP. Â This is the first few drawings I made to begin the visuals for the campaign.
There will be more next week!
GAP: the people have spoken!
