: What do you want to ask Sen. Obama ? Rodriguez-Gerada , 42 , is a Cuban-born American who grew up in North Plainfield , New Jersey , near New York , and now lives in Barcelona . The artist , who has long focused on large-format sketches and other designs , said he had been planning to put an anonymous face on Barcelona 's Mediterranean beachfront but shelved the idea . Then , six weeks ago , he decided it should be Obama 's face . `` Everybody 's doing work about Obama , '' he said . `` I was talking to my wife about the importance of this election internationally . It all came together . '' The idea , that is . The execution of the project is still a work in progress , but with a lot of help pouring in . The artist has created what he calls a `` vectored image '' from different photos of Obama , showing the candidate 's face looking left over his shoulder . He will use 500 tons of material -- mainly gravel but also sand and possibly some soil in black , brown and white tones
MADRID , Spain -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Barack Obama sometimes gets ribbed for his outsized ideas , like the massive stage built in Denver , Colorado , to accept the Democratic presidential nomination . But an artist in Barcelona , Spain , may be about to outdo the candidate himself . Large-format sketches have long been a focus of artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada 's work . The artist plans to create a gigantic face of Obama sculpted from gravel and sand , which will cover nearly 2.5 acres -LRB- 1 hectare -RRB- of Barcelona beachfront before the U.S. elections . `` The size of the piece is intrinsic to its value , '' the artist , Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada , said Saturday . He hopes it will be big enough to be seen on Google Earth . `` Obama 's personality -- his youth , personal history and message of a new politics -- has fused with the historical moment to create someone larger than life , '' says the artist 's dossier about the work , titled `` Expectation . '' The huge size also alludes `` to the global impact of this election , '' the dossier adds . iReport.com