Why did a Boise artist use Nazi propaganda for his Basque poster design?
A popular Boise artist has explained the use of a Nazi propaganda poster as the blueprint for a 20-year-old piece he created celebrating the city’s Basque community after the image became the subject of discussion and criticism online during Jaialdi, a Boise Basque celebration.
Ward Hooper, an artist known for his vintage-style posters of Boise neighborhoods and landmarks, told the Idaho Statesman he received “two very nasty emails” over the weekend about a 2004 design featuring a man carrying the Basque flag and wearing a traditional vest and red gerriko, or belt. One hand is on the man’s waist, his dark hair is combed back and his gaze is fixed to the side, a smile on his face.
It’s an exact match for a well-known Hitler Youth poster, in which the inverted image shows a man with blond hair and a brown Nazi uniform, holding a red flag emblazoned with a swastika.
“The image was meant to take a negative image and throw it back at, and flip the negative connotation by promoting a positive image of the Basque community,” Hooper told the Statesman.
He noted that the Nazis notoriously bombed the Basque city of Guernica in Spain, killing civilians amid the Spanish Civil War.
“My intention was to give a middle finger to the Nazi and fascist groups that committed such heinous atrocities,” Hooper said.
The internet didn’t see it that way. A user shared the image on the Boise subreddit Saturday after coming across it at Expo Idaho during Jaialdi, a multi-day Basque celebration that happens every five years in Boise. The Statesman has reached out to Jaialdi organizers for comment.
The Reddit user noted the similarities between the posters, and other users soon agreed. Some speculated Hooper may have used AI to create the image. Others suggested the overlap was a coincidence, and some said it was malicious.
Another Reddit user created a new post Sunday with Hooper’s design and the propaganda poster layered together, showing how closely the pieces match. In the dozens of comments on that post, one user added some clarity: an emailed response from Hooper explaining that the 21-year-old artwork was “reclaiming what was previously used in a dark way.”
Since then, feedback became more positive. Hooper said the people who emailed him — and one person who tried to purchase a print of the design before he took it down from his website — have been understanding after he explained the original intent of the artwork. He made sure to note that the piece wasn’t affiliated with Jaialdi, the city of Boise or the Basque Block.
The artist said it’s the first time he’s faced backlash over the design despite being open about its inspiration when he first created it.
Hooper said he won’t be putting the print back up for sale.
“I’m not just throwing it out there that I’m sorry (for offending people),” he said. “I’m genuinely sorry about it.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2025 at 4:44 PM.
