WHY SO SERIOUS?
08.06.09
This image has been popping up on a lot of news sites lately. It’s being reported as if it represents some kind of movement, and is drawing constant comparison to Shepard Fairey’s now historical election poster. Many ideas are floating around as to what it actually means, but liberals claiming racism and violence toward the President seem to be the loudest of voices. While I share their disgust of the belligerent red-faced “birthers” waiving their guns around, I think it’s completely unfair and hypocritical to attack this image. Here’s why:
The poster is an attempt to link Obama to the right’s completely paranoid charges of extremism, wildly erratic behavior, and robbery by taxation. I don’t believe it is racist or violent, only implying the unintelligible argument that our president is a loose cannon hell bent on destroying the country. It doesn’t represent a movement whatsoever, as street art has been hijacked by advertising nerds and is just a gimmick to sell clients on phony street cred. Sounds like Michael Steele’s M.O. to me.
My hunch is that the image was just made by some graphic designer trying to make a name for himself. He did a few little wheat pastes, took a few pictures, and now everyone’s talking about this like it’s some kind of underground political movement. I find it silly that the image has received the amount of press that it has, considering the way “guerilla” ad campaigns and “grass roots demonstrations” are easily purchased and staged these days. Not to mention the image has been done before.
I like to consider that the poster might even be satirical in nature, taking a stab at the foam-mouthed paranoia that currently dominates our political discourse. In this context I actually like the image very much. But then again, I do have a soft spot for comic book villains. Everybody calm down, you can’t cry foul every time someone takes a shot at YOUR guy. It’s actually sort of… funny.
Tags: Barack Obama, poster, socialism, street art, wheat paste
Category: Art, Design, Politics
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