( CNN ) -- In 2011 , as the world marked 10 years since 9/11 , we asked artists around the globe to illustrate the ripple effects of the terrorist attacks . The result was `` 9/11 Ripple , '' CNN 's first digital art gallery . With the 2012 elections approaching , we again wanted to include artists in our coverage of a major news event . Artists provide unique insight and provoke thought , conversation and community in a critical way and are especially vital during such important times for our country and our world . This time we chose the theme of `` Power '' for our digital art gallery . The theme represents not just the obvious power that 's at stake in the election but the more subtle forces that power us as a people and drive our debate over money , health , race and gender -- often to the point of protest and gridlock . Explore the `` Power '' digital election art gallery . We then reached out to a broad yet select group of artists representing different , influential perspectives in the art world and the broader community and asked them to submit work and participate in building the gallery with us . Our search began in the spring when we met Brad Downey , an exciting American performance artist who was in Atlanta for a collaboration with flux projects . After watching a presentation of his work -- which included videos of creative street art that many would call vandalism -- we asked if he 'd be interested in contributing to `` Power , '' the only caveat being that he could n't vandalize anything . The work he submitted is provocative -- a photograph of a CCTV camera on a pole in Karl Marx Allee in Berlin that appears to be on fire . His statement for `` CCTV Sacrifice '' sums up his approach : `` Some people say the world will end in fire , while others say it will end with ice . FREEZE , we are watching you ! '' ( Downey promises us that nothing was damaged and no laws were broken in producing his work . ) No less provocative is a video by Joe Hollier , `` Era of Great Cynicism . '' Set to a syncopated jazz-era beat , his stop-motion animation is a commentary on individuality , beliefs , media influence , health care , elections and more . Noah Fischer , who took part in the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York and initiated Occupy Subways and Occupy Museums , created `` The Power of Gold . '' The video juxtaposes images of the Statue of Liberty with a rotating gold coin , and his statement explains his intentions : `` The fear instinct tells us to grab what we need to survive ... yet we live in a nation that once took the goddess of freed slaves as its muse . '' Another video performance artist we 're excited about featuring is Liz Magic Laser . Her `` Push Poll '' video , complete with actors , a focus group moderator and a pop-up newsroom in New York 's Chinatown , `` explores the power of polls to influence public opinion and the persuasive effects of the so-called 'man on the street ' news segments . '' Other works include Seb Jarnot 's `` The War of Smiles , '' Molly Crabapple 's `` Big Fish Eat Little Fish Eat Big Fish '' and Dorothy O'Connor 's `` Tornado . '' Jarnot , a French illustrator whose work has appeared in major publications and ad campaigns , took part in `` Ripple . '' His work this year features `` over-smiley portraits '' of President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney , which he says represent `` violence and power in a fight between ... two different energies . '' Crabapple 's playful painting featuring fish is a `` metaphor for revolution and counterrevolution '' following the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements . And O'Connor 's `` Tornado '' portrays a woman creating a destructive whirlwind in her home -- a symbol , she says , of the interplay of democracy , voters and corporate donors . This is only a taste of what you 'll find in `` Power , '' our effort to create a space in which different voices can be heard in ways other than words . We hope it will be thought provoking , and we invite you to join the conversation by posting your comments on the gallery .
As this year elections approach , CCTV asked artists to illustrate the theme of `` 9/11 Ripple features broad yet select group representing different perspectives . CNN 's first digital art gallery , `` Power '' Gallery , '' explored the ripple effects of the terrorist attacks . Explore the `` Power '' digital election art gallery , which is curated into five topics .