Artist Paints Obama In the Image of Che and Mao, Not Fred Thompson

Photo of Tim Graham.

Is Barack Obama an icon of hope like....Che Guevara? Washington Post reporter William Booth on Sunday celebrated the three-color icon-worshipping Obama posters by left-wing street artist Shepard Fairey. To Booth, Che (the communist assassin) is as cool as Fred Thompson is dull: "All political art is propaganda (that is the point), but most political posters are bland, forgettable, wallpaper, like Fred Thompson on an off day. Fairey wanted something more iconic -- aspirational, inspirational -- and cool. In other words, he wanted to make posters that the cool cats would want. The 2008 Democratic primary season equivalent of the Che poster (with all that implies). More Mao, more right now." His new book is titled "E Pluribus Venom." [Image from Google.]

Booth reports the posters are a smash among Obama-maniacs, who have "gobbled up" 80,000 posters and 150,000 stickers with the images. A poster signed by Obama fetched $5,900 on eBay, Booth added. It can get pricey out there: "Indeed, the Obama campaign liked the posters so much it now sells them via the official campaign Web site store (for $70, and the supply is currently all sold out -- again)."

The poorer of the Two Americas is crushed.

There’s another storyline in here, that the Obama-maniac’s artist of choice appears to be a radical leftist that suggests art in a Soviet style, another Obama associate who would hurt his odd image as a non-ideological unifier:

His Obama posters (and lots of his commercial and fine art work) are reworkings of the techniques of revolutionary propagandists -- the bright colors, bold lettering, geometric simplicity, heroic poses -- the "art with a purpose" created by constructivists in the early Soviet Union, like Alexander Rodchenko and the Stenberg brothers, and by America's own Depression-era Works Projects Administration.

Not only has Fairey done Obama, but works on the walls of his studio and on his Web site include depictions of Sid Vicious, Bobby Seale, Chairman Mao, Noam Chomsky, Emiliano Zapata, Patty Hearst, Vladimir Lenin and Richard Nixon. Though Fairey is quoting revolutionary forms (meaning he is playing with Mao, not endorsing Mao), some observers see his Obama poster and think: reds.

Writers for the Clout column in the Philadelphia Daily News said "the Soviet-style heroic Obama, the use of a single word HOPE" reminded them of George Orwell's "1984" and Big Brother.

"There's an unequivocal sense of idol worship about the image," wrote op-ed columnist Meghan Daum in the Los Angeles Times, "a half-artsy, half-creepy genuflection that suggests the subject is (a) a Third World dictator whose rule is enmeshed in a seductive cult of personality; (b) a controversial American figure who's been assassinated; or (c) one of those people from a Warhol silkscreen that you don't recognize but assume to be important in an abstruse way."

Fairey rummages around on his desk and produces a letter from Obama himself. "Dear Shepard," the candidate writes. "I would like to thank you for using your talent in support of my campaign. The political messages involved in your work have encouraged Americans to believe they can help change the status quo. Your images have a profound effect on people, whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign."

Messages. Images. Effect. Someone understands phenomenology. And the thing about stop signs? "He's kind of endorsing graffiti," Fairey says, "isn't he?"

Fairey is also celebrated in the latest Esquire magazine for his new book.

As a graphic designer, Shepard Fairey has helped market some of the biggest names around: Nike, Zeppelin, Guitar Hero. And with his new book, E Pluribus Venom (Gingko Press, $30), Fairey has taken to branding America’s great national ideals -- capitalism, nationalism, militarism -- with a series of subversive ads. You won’t find much of the clear-eyed optimism of Fairey’s Obama posters (not included in the book), but you will find America.

One of the Fairey posters featured by Esquire is an old drawing of a white policeman with the words "I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS AND GET AWAY WITH IT." That's hardly a unifying piece of art. Nor is his anti-war poster with the motto "In Lesser Gods We Trust."

—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center


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Communist

Finally someone has "painted" Obama as he really is, a Communist. As if he wasn't scary enough (no flag pin, friends with Wright and Ayers, middle name is Hussain) now it looks like the leader of a communist country.  I think the artist got it right on the money!

The poster speaks more to

The poster speaks more to reality than they know.  Of course they gullible libs eat it up.

Nuke em til they glow then shoot em in the dark.

All he needs

is a scraggly beard and a beret, with a big red star behind him.  This guy scares the hell out of me........God help us if he makes it. 

"If a man does his best, what else is there"?

General George S. Patton Jr.

Perfect.

Just perfect.... His supporters know what he is and what he wants. This won't bother them one bit.

If this petulant, angry, ignorant child makes it to the White House, I'm diggin' a bomb shelter .

Happy Trails...

Aint that a take off on the

Aint that a take off on the American flag lapel pin concept in the lower right corner? 

I thought Obama was ABOVE wearing such?

Or ...

... an arab turban is more appropriate, along with a star and crescent lapel pin!

Let me know

 Please let me know when the Urinal Target version comes out.

 American Dream – 10,000 politicians swimming to Europe with a lawyer under each arm. 

Different version of

Different version of that Picture

Thanks mattm

I'm working on a collection of Obamarama Posters 

 

Carbon Credits Smoke'em if you got'em!

I can just see this

This image would look just dandy on the side of government buildings and hanging over the podium at the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet - er - Congress.

Hey Chris

Try out this pic over at Blackfive, Uncle Jimbo was harrassing some liberals over in Madison. Too funny.

Don't be a DouChe.  http://www.blackfive.net/main/2008/05/dont-be-a-douch.html#comments

Sorry about the link, my laptop is messed up and the rich text isn't working. 

David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive

 

This is the Obama that

This is the Obama that Obama doesn't want anyone to know about just yet. He'll hide the real Obama till he unpacks his suitcase at 1600 Penn Ave. Then watch out! That raises the question of who he will bring into the White House with him if he wins. I think we can guess.

So Obama's really a

So Obama's really a communist, but he's been hiding it from everyone, and only upon becoming president will he reveal this trait?

Based on a liberal Obama brethren's rendition ...

Based on a liberal Obama brethren's rendition of the anointed one ... it must be true!

If he is, he hasn't been

If he is, he hasn't been doing a very good job on hiding it.

"That raises the question

"That raises the question of who he will bring into the White House with him if he wins. I think we can guess."

I think the answer might be found here...

or here??

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

MM...I just got done

MM...I just got done laughing at the refresher of your first one that I have seen before but the second one took the cake...yellow cake that is...Kofi and UN was delicious...I am still laughing...what army UN? ..

Thanks for the laughter...much needed...btw...some of those answers to the simple minded leftist press suited me just fine.

"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Churchill

i've been seeing these

i've been seeing these posters around philly and have been thinking the same thing the whole time, its a che like picture. 

couple this with that earlier report a few months ago that his campaign headquarters in texas had an ACTUAL che picture in it.

his young supporters scare me much more than him.