Obama Joker artist unmasked: A fellow Chicagoan: The Obama Joker artist has been revealed, and he’s from President Barack Obama’s hometown—Chicago. According to the Los Angeles Times, 20-year-old Firas Alkhateeb, a senior history major at the University of Illinois, crafted the picture of Obama with the recognizable clown makeup using Adobe's Photoshop software. Concerned about a lawsuit, Alkhateeb was relieved that the situation had floated for months without any major news organizations discovering that he was the man behind the paint.