The Brave Young Things

What happens to political art if Obama wins?

Michael C. Moynihan | September 15, 2008

Most readers will likely be unfamiliar with the work of artist Martha Rosler, but I’d hazard a guess that you’ve seen something stylistically similar sometime in the past eight years. The New York Times describes her current show of photomontages as consisting of “advertising images of idealized American homes conjoined with combat scenes from overseas,” featuring, for instance, a piece that “shows a tank flanked by an army of men in identical black suits.” (Some of those images can be seen here, here, and here.) Materialism, empire, and malevolent corporations: It's an exercise in bourgeois guilt, scolding the viewer for having a downtown loft full of Marcel Breuer furniture and not equally sharing the world’s miseries.

A decade ago, the Times gushed that Rosler was an "art-world provocateur,” tackling issues that even the most jaded observer of political art would identify as tedious and mainstream. According to the Times, Rosler has addressed social issues "as diverse as" the Pinochet coup, "representations of homelessness," media sexism, the war in Vietnam, and consumer capitalism.

For political artists such as Rosler, the past eight years have been boom years, providing much opportunity for outrage (for those who remember the Reagan-era New York art scene, this is hardly surprising). But what will become of the perpetually outraged artist in the event of an Obama administration?

Speaking to The New York Times about Rosler, one gallerist opined that political art goes in and out of fashion, but is “mostly out of fashion.” These fashion trends, though, are predictable: A Republican administration will almost always produce an uptick in the production and popularity of such work. Most readers will appreciate that claims of bravery and heterodoxy—the idea that radical political art is produced irrespective of current art world trends—are manufactured to project an image of the artist as embattled, truth-to-power-speaking minority of one, bravely combating the smelly little orthodoxies of a reactionary culture.

But there is some hope, however small, that when the Bush administration disappears, the heavy-handed and indignant art that it precipitated will give way to more measured work. The motivation to present yet another visual representation of Abu Ghraib (I have seen dozens, none of which could overpower the effect of the original images) will dissipate. But with an Obama administration, it is also conceivable that the dull and sophomoric political art of the Bush years will be replaced by the dull and hagiographic work of the Obama years. In July, The Wall Street Journal ventured into the “Obama art market,” where well-known and almost-known artists paint, sketch, and silk-screen the great agent of change. There was no mention of any art work critical of the Obama cult, a situation that seems ripe for parody. (Satirizing Obama is a dangerous game, as the hysterical reaction to that now-infamous New Yorker cover demonstrates, but one that a “provocative” artist should relish.) A gallery in Austin, Texas currently features work “inspired by Barack Obama,” according to the blog Obama Art Report.

Take the enormously talented Shepard Fairey, a Rhode Island School of Design graduate previously best-known for his "Andre the Giant has a posse" street art campaign of the early 1990s, and now famous as the designer of an already-iconic Obama campaign poster. In the mid-1990’s, Fairey's work took a mildly political turn, when, borrowing liberally from the constructivist and socialist realist schools of graphic design, he produced a series of Aleksandr Rodchenko-inspired poster art, featuring images of political figures such as Lenin, Angela Davis, Richard Nixon, and Saddam Hussein. There was no obvious yearning for the East Bloc, no Baathist or Nixonian proselytizing, and its direct political meaning was unclear, if it existed at all. The chic was primary, the radical secondary.

But more recently, Fairey’s work has fully embraced the agitprop influences of his early posters, producing material that eschews his previous subtlety (such as this piece, which explicitly asks “What is the cost of oil?”) in favor of the politically frivolous, and indulging in the preachiness of a recent convert.

In 2004 Fairey told an interviewer that he has "an audience that listens to me already and plenty of other people to reach, who for the sake of the future of the planet, I hope I can convince not to elect Bush." But Fairey's audience—of which I have long counted myself a part—was most likely already pulling the lever for someone other than Bush, and if they weren’t, he almost surely overestimates his power to influence. As the art critic Clement Greenberg once commented, "Art solves nothing, either for the artist himself or for those who receive his art." And as an ex-Marxist who once demanded that the artist be drafted into the cause of class struggle, it is an area with which Greenberg was intimately familiar.

There comes a point, irrespective of the viewer's position on American foreign policy or the candidacy of Obama, where the artist's sense of moral outrage becomes annoyingly unidirectional. During the Cold War, one could attend countless openings that fretted about Ronny Ray-gun, but few, if any, that explored the horrifying brutality of the Soviet Union or its satellites. Likewise, in recent years, we’ve witnessed the lopsided skewering of religion. By all means let us irritate the Catholic Church, submerge crucifixes in urine, cake the Virgin Mary with elephant dung. We should stand shoulder-to-shoulder with and defend the rights of those who alarm the sensibilities of the pious.

Yet it's counterintuitive and not particularly compelling to treat the outrage of one community with a shoulder shrug while assuaging the hurt feelings of another. It's worth remembering that that those “offensive” Mohammad cartoons published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten were reprinted in very few newspapers, magazines, and galleries in America.

This isn’t about the Bush legacy, the Iraq War, or who we hope wins the 2008 election, nor is it a quibble with specific points of view raised by modern political artists—some are valid, many are not. And there is nothing ideologically objectionable about Martha Rosler’s vehement anti-war stance on its own. It is, though, about the impulse to praise the pedestrian and puerile as brave, to recast the shallow thinker as penetrating, for no other reason than to reaffirm the political ideas of both viewer or critic. But when confronting ideas that are genuinely controversial, most seem to agree with the editorial cartoonist and artist Khalil Bendib, who told The Los Angeles Times, “The concept of freedom of expression in a democratic society must always be balanced by the no less important notion of social responsibility.”

But with President Bush mercifully retiring to Crawford, Texas, our hyperpolitical artists can return to the business of making generically bad art, shorn of references to a looming fascist takeover. Though don't discount the possibility that Bush's art world tormenters, confused by the peaceful transition of power to Obama, will now engage in the kind of hero worship that Shepard Fairey once so skillfully mocked.

Michael C. Moynihan is an associate editor of reason.

Help Reason celebrate its next 40 years. Donate Now!

Try Reason's award-winning print edition today! Your first issue is FREE if you are not completely satisfied.

TallDave|9.15.08 @ 12:17PM|#

Maybe we'll finally get "Piss Mohammed" but I doubt it. "Courage" in the art community usually consists of pissing off people who are extremely unlikely to physically harm you.

They've got McCain covered, though.

http://minx.cc/?post=273406

|9.15.08 @ 12:29PM|#

"he produced a series of Aleksandr Rodchenko-inspired poster art"

I never realized that Worf's son went into art after serving in the Klingon military. Good for him.

|9.15.08 @ 12:30PM|#

Moynihan uses a thousand words to paint a picture of the obvious.

BakedPenguin|9.15.08 @ 12:30PM|#

Over at Urkobold, I admit that I want to get rich selling t-shirts, just like those conservative t-shirt guys.

It may not be art, but I know what I like.

meerdahl|9.15.08 @ 12:31PM|#

the way things are going, it does not look like this will be a problem for them

|9.15.08 @ 12:35PM|#

This has already been turned into a better t-shirt:

http://bit.ly/obama-tshirt

idiotface|9.15.08 @ 12:36PM|#

Leroy Neiman offends my political sensibilities.

|9.15.08 @ 12:37PM|#

Team Fortress Classic had the option of you choosing the "Andre the Giant has a posse" image as your sig that you could paint on the wall.

I much, much prefer the offensive art to the hagiographic. The hero worship thing is pathetic. At least offensive stuff can impress me with how offensive it gets, like the girl at Yale with the supposed miscarriages/cells in jars. That would have been impressive if real.

I never realized that Worf's son went into art after serving in the Klingon military. Good for him.

Excellent.

Warty|9.15.08 @ 12:38PM|#

No need to worry, the artists will all get busy casting 100 foot tall bronze statues of Beloved Leader if he wins.

Completely off-topic: the ad on the sidebar for Premium Bacon Mac 'n Cheese defies words. Premium macaroni and cheese? It reminds me a little of all the "premium" malt liquor I drank in my underage days.

The Wine Commonsewer|9.15.08 @ 12:39PM|#

Moynihan uses a thousand words to paint a picture of the obvious.

That doesn't make it uninteresting. At least to me. I had never seen Martha's art, some of which was kind of interesting.

Tall One: You will NEVER see Piss Mohammad.

The Wine Commonsewer|9.15.08 @ 12:40PM|#

Baked,

Keeping the Iranians Off My Lawn?

That's Great! I love it.

ROTFLMAO

Couldn't you just get a Red Ryder BB gun though?

|9.15.08 @ 12:41PM|#

Artists are never outraged by Democratic presidents.

|9.15.08 @ 12:43PM|#

It reminds me a little of all the "premium" malt liquor I drank in my underage days

I once had "menthol" Colt 45. For real--they added mint flavor to malt liquor. I kept it down, but it was hard. I don't know what genius came up with that but I assume it got killed right quick.

Sean Roberts|9.15.08 @ 12:43PM|#

You've no doubt already seen this:

http://obamamessiah.blogspot.com/

Rich Ard|9.15.08 @ 12:45PM|#

A pretty short google search will expose Shepard Fairey as a thief. He is a talented designer, but to expand his t-shirt line he has done far more than borrow liberally; he has stolen others' work outright.

BakedPenguin|9.15.08 @ 12:46PM|#

thx, TWC. Your free shirt is on its way.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 12:46PM|#

a situation that seems ripe for parody

"Ripe!"

"He just wants to see boys' linuses."

the heavy-handed and indignant art that it precipitated will give way to more measured work.

Is it just me, or does film seem to have largely escaped this didactic trend? It seems like there are genuine parodies getting made, amidst some of the more sombre, lecturing stuff. Or maybe I'm just not as familiar with the art world.

|9.15.08 @ 12:47PM|#

what will become of the perpetually outraged artist in the event of an Obama administration?

I'm not worried; there will always be Republicans and Southerners to hate on.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 12:56PM|#

Premium macaroni and cheese?

Mac and cheese (or, Kraft Dinner north of the border) doesn't need any 'premium' improvements. Just ketchup.

priapismo|9.15.08 @ 12:58PM|#

Do you understand what an Obama administration will mean?

• Obama enacts stronger "federal hate crimes legislation" to "reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section."

• Obama creates "a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners."

• Obama, following through on his pledge to "meet with the leaders of all nations, friend and foe," signs a non-agression pact with the Hitler of Iran.

• Obama doubles foreign aid to $50 billion to cut "poverty around the world in half by 2015."

• Obama removes our troops from Iraq, leaving a power vacuum filled by Iran.

• Obama enacts socialized medicine, destroying small businesses with taxes to pay for illegal alien healthcare.

• Obama enacts amnesty for illegal aliens.

• Obama enacts legislation demanding carbon friendly cars, hammering the final nail in the coffin of the US car industry.

• Barack Obama enact laws to reinforce affirmative action by funneling money to "women and minority-owned businesses."

• Obama repeals the Bush tax cuts.

• Obama enacts the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to entrench the power of the homosexual lobby.

|9.15.08 @ 12:59PM|#

"Let's see some bananas and nuts!"

Is it just me, or does film seem to have largely escaped this didactic trend?

Go to a low-grade film festival and you will be bombarded with the film equivalent. It's just that you'll never see it otherwise, and the film community does not operate like the art community, in that the pushing and promotion of art is totally different.

I was at a film festival in Tribeca at the Tribeca Grand for digital short films. The very first one was an unspeakably pretentious piece of shit, so my friend and I start brutally slagging it and its maker...who turned out to be sitting three seats away and heard every word.

|9.15.08 @ 1:03PM|#

I'm not worried; there will always be Republicans and Southerners to hate on.

And Alaskans. Don't forget those horrible moose-hating Alaskans and their non-aborting trailer trash beauty queens.

|9.15.08 @ 1:07PM|#

There is nothing so boring as politicized art. Whether it's something I'm for or against; whether it is about a person I love or hate. Nothing so boring. Art to make a political point = Teh Suck.

I'll take the fucking Pepsi challenge on that.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 1:11PM|#

Go to a low-grade film festival and you will be bombarded with the film equivalent.

I saw some excellent entries in the Seattle International Film Festival, but judiciously circumvented the Battle in Seattle hoopla. It's easier to avoid really bad film, maybe.
so my friend and I start brutally slagging it and its maker...who turned out to be sitting three seats away and heard every word.

Lucky for you he was probably a spindly nerd. Them's fightin' words.

Djyrn|9.15.08 @ 1:11PM|#

I'd make a piss mohammed for you, but I have no idea where I'd get my hands on a plastic mohammed.

BakedPenguin|9.15.08 @ 1:12PM|#

Is it just me, or does film seem to have largely escaped this didactic trend?

In addition to what Episiarch said, film has a much longer lead time to make and distribute. From idea to script to production to getting the film in front of the viewer could easily take over four years.

|9.15.08 @ 1:12PM|#

In 2000, this article was called, "What will become of the perpetually outraged talk radio host in the event of a Bush administration?

|9.15.08 @ 1:16PM|#

Warty,

You being wrong has never tasted so delicious.

Wild Mushroom Macaroni and Three Cheeses with Truffle Oil

I've made it. It's awesome.

Elemenope|9.15.08 @ 1:19PM|#

Artists are never outraged by Democratic presidents.

Sez the guy who clearly has never seen the editorial cartoon page of any major newspaper, ever.

BakedPenguin|9.15.08 @ 1:21PM|#

SugarFree, "wild" mushrooms? You sure it was the taste that you liked?

Elemenope|9.15.08 @ 1:21PM|#

I'd make a piss Muhammad for you, but I have no idea where I'd get my hands on a plastic Muhammad.

The Jews and Muslims were crafty and clever (and wise) to forbid the making of images of their religious figures. If there is no image that sticks in the heads of people when they think of those people, then there is no way to invert or subvert those images reliably.

The Christians stupidly made their figures into instant icons, practically inviting an artist's assault on their precious symbols.

|9.15.08 @ 1:22PM|#

film has a much longer lead time to make and distribute

Yes and no. A political short could be banged out in a day if it was something like a guy standing in front of a Walmart and showing placards about Walmart's "abuses".

It's easier to avoid really bad film, maybe.

You can't put a whole film on the cover of a magazine or in a newspaper, but you can show a picture of "controversial" art.

Mac and cheese (or, Kraft Dinner north of the border) doesn't need any 'premium' improvements.

I was sure that this was a joke stereotype. Are you saying it's not?

|9.15.08 @ 1:23PM|#

Ele,

Artists? Really?

I'm not arguing your point, but editorial cartoonists as artists? Really?

Although, I will support your wrong-headed argument and say I saw plenty of anti-Clinton art around campus, but it was mostly focused on the intern-fucking.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 1:24PM|#

Wild Mushroom Macaroni and Three Cheeses with Truffle Oil

SugarFree,

Your wife is a lucky lady. That sounds amazing. Truffle oil is some of the best evidence of a higher power I can think of.

Lots better than the tapeworm-feeding Kraft Dinner and ketchup my country is known for.

|9.15.08 @ 1:25PM|#

Also, there is premium mac & cheese.

BakedPenguin,

Have you ever had them fresh? You'd never think of cooking with them if you had...

Get them dried and break them up into pill-sized chunks. And then, like I did, go the Natural History Museum.

Orange Line Special|9.15.08 @ 1:26PM|#

Under the glorious Reign of BHO, ~~reactionary~~ racist satire will be banned.

Rich Ard|9.15.08 @ 1:26PM|#

I'm not arguing your point, but editorial cartoonists as artists? Really?

See Thomas Nast and keep on going.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 1:27PM|#

I was sure that this was a joke stereotype. Are you saying it's not?

The Kraft Dinner thing? Nope, people really call it that. Kids in the Hall never lie.

|9.15.08 @ 1:28PM|#

Dagny,

"Fattening up our tapeworm..."

She doesn't appreciate it. I end up feeding my friends at work the leftovers.

Neu Mejican|9.15.08 @ 1:29PM|#

Brandybuck,

Don't forget those horrible moose-hating Alaskans and their non-aborting trailer trash beauty queens.

You are the only commenter I have seen criticize Palin for not aborting her youngest son.

Do you have any examples of one of her critics suggesting she should have had an abortion?

If the comment is from anyone above SIV levels of trolldom I will concede your point.

Otherwise, I am surprised that you have sunk to lonewacko levels of commentary.

|9.15.08 @ 1:30PM|#

She doesn't appreciate it.

Well then what the hell does she like about you? It can't be your personality, looks, or brains, so I thought it was the food.

|9.15.08 @ 1:31PM|#

Rich Ard,

I'm not dissin'. I just think of them as columnists who aren't so good with words.

It's probably because our's from the local paper is so freaking terrible.

Warty|9.15.08 @ 1:31PM|#

You can put lipstick on Sarah Palin all you like, but mac 'n cheese is white trash food no matter what. Though I'll admit I am intrigued by Aspartame's poofty version.

|9.15.08 @ 1:33PM|#

Well then what the hell does she like about you?

Having a wife that's viscerally afraid of getting fat is not a bad thing, but not a perfect mate for the amateur chef.

Djyrn|9.15.08 @ 1:37PM|#

http://iranpoliticsclub.net/art-literature/max-emadi/

Is Islamo-Erotic bad?

|9.15.08 @ 1:38PM|#

Having a wife that's viscerally afraid of getting fat is not a bad thing, but not a perfect mate for the amateur chef.

Oh, I know it, NutraSweet. The ex is training for a half-marathon right now and she still eats as little as when we were together.

Elemenope|9.15.08 @ 1:38PM|#

Also, there is premium mac & cheese.

Just bought a six-pack of Annie's the other day. As far as the boxed shit goes, it is the best. (Nothing beats a real homemade baked Mac and Cheese, though.)

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 1:43PM|#

The ex is training for a half-marathon right now and she still eats as little as when we were together.

Me too! The half-marathon, I mean, not the starving. I'm much happier when not starving.

|9.15.08 @ 1:50PM|#

Me too! The half-marathon, I mean

You guys are nuts. I ran all through high school (Cross Country, Track, Soccer) and then finally realized in college that I fucking hate it. I have never once gotten a runner's high. I get my running in by playing Ultimate or soccer or tennis where I can actually pay attention to something other than the running itself.

Swimming: way better.

Ele,

Alton Brown's Baked Macaroni and Cheese is very traditional and easy to make.

|9.15.08 @ 1:52PM|#

Sez the guy who clearly has never seen the editorial cartoon page of any major newspaper, ever.

I don't consider editorial cartoonists to be "artists" in that sense. I'm using it in exactly the same sense that Michael is using "art" in the title of this article.

BakedPenguin|9.15.08 @ 1:54PM|#

The ex is training for a half-marathon right now and she still eats as little as when we were together.

She must look emaciated. I used to run 6 - 9 miles 4 or 5 times a week, and I had to eat 4,000 calories a day to not fall below 130 pounds (I'm 5'8"). I used to eat a whole pound of macadamia nuts or cashews every other day.

|9.15.08 @ 1:59PM|#

Don't forget those horrible moose-hating Alaskans and their non-aborting trailer trash beauty queens.

You are the only commenter I have seen criticize Palin for not aborting her youngest son.

Do you have any examples of one of her critics suggesting she should have had an abortion?

If the comment is from anyone above SIV levels of trolldom I will concede your point.

Otherwise, I am surprised that you have sunk to lonewacko levels of commentary.

NM,

Don't you know. Urbanites that make fun of the South and Alaska hate America. Southerners, urbanites and Alaskans that make fun of the city dwelling Americans love America.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 2:00PM|#

Swimming: way better.

Good call. Guys who swim tend to have amazing bodies. But it's so hard! I'm thinking of doing a sprint triathlon next year, but the swim portion would kill me.

I have never once gotten a runner's high.

There was an interesting NYT article about the potential science behind runner's high. I'm okay without it, provided I have good music to run to.

|9.15.08 @ 2:02PM|#

She must look emaciated

Not all. She a naturally small person who never really needed that much food for some reason. She's a little thinner than before going for the half-marathon but isn't too thin.

Different people have different calorie requirements.

*Not AT all*

BDB|9.15.08 @ 2:05PM|#

You'd have to make "Piss Koran" since there are no images people accept as Muhammad.

|9.15.08 @ 2:06PM|#

Different people have different calorie requirements.

[nods enthusiastically while chewing and then begins to gently weep]

|9.15.08 @ 2:15PM|#

But it's so hard! I'm thinking of doing a sprint triathlon next year, but the swim portion would kill me.

Exact opposite for me: I hate the running (a shattered and reconstructed heel doesn't help), but I can swim forever, and enjoy it. I go to local lakes and swim across them just for fun.

A high school friend of mine's father did triathlons. We would go training with him for fun, as we were both top runners and bicyclists, and that training was brutal, even for guys whose soccer practice started with a 6-mile run through the woods as a "warmup". If you do one, that is impressive.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 2:17PM|#

[nods enthusiastically while chewing and then begins to gently weep]

Back to the shame corner so soon? Keep on cooking & remember that men can pull off the slightly-chunky look much better than ladies can. It's more likely to seem cuddly, rather than frumpy.

|9.15.08 @ 2:21PM|#

Dag,

I'm not ginourmous, but I've given up on being thin. I'd rather die happy Seth Rogan-sized* than be miserable James Franco-sized.

*If Seth Rogan lifted weights on a regular basis. I can get you tickets to the gun show.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 2:31PM|#

I'd rather die happy Seth Rogan-sized* than be miserable James Franco-sized.

A wise choice. Same here, only insert Kate Winslet (who I apparently look like) & Kate Moss, respectively.

Seth Rogan is a perfect case in point. So cute!

Paul|9.15.08 @ 2:31PM|#

"Piss Muhammed [off]"

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 2:40PM|#

If you do one, that is impressive.

Not as impressive as you and your friends. The one I'm thinking of is a sprint tri, which is way shorter: Open Water Swim - 800 yards, Bike - 12 miles, Run - 3.1 miles. Biking and running? No prob. But open water swimming is even harder than the pool!

|9.15.08 @ 2:44PM|#

@priapismo:

Well, what's wrong with any of those things?

|9.15.08 @ 2:52PM|#

But open water swimming is even harder than the pool!

What makes it so hard? Is it physically demanding for you, or is it mentally demanding? The former can be addressed with working on your stroke and the latter by going out and getting a lot of water time in.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 3:03PM|#

Is it physically demanding for you, or is it mentally demanding?

Good question, Coach. The pre-measured limits of the pool are comforting, I think. Maybe I'll give swimming another try once my race is done.

Deus ex Machina|9.15.08 @ 3:07PM|#

In a similar vein:

Economists Warn Anti-Bush Merchandise Market Close To Collapse.

|9.15.08 @ 3:12PM|#

It seems like there are genuine parodies getting made, amidst some of the more sombre, lecturing stuff.

I would need to know what you meant by this. The only thing I've seen that isn't hectoring are the unspeakably bad "parodies" that involve Family Guy-esque "Remember Popular Movie A?!" not-jokes.

Comedy is a dead art. Tragedy is completely unsuitable for us. There is no art left for us to hide behind.

|9.15.08 @ 3:17PM|#

Maybe I'll give swimming another try once my race is done

You should. I love the water, as you can clearly see :-)

Neu Mejican|9.15.08 @ 3:26PM|#

Mo,

Don't you know. Urbanites that make fun of the South and Alaska hate America. Southerners, urbanites and Alaskans that make fun of the city dwelling Americans love America.

Is it making fun of urbanites to say that they look down on women who DON'T ABORT their fetuses? I didn't realize. I just thought Brandybuck, who is normally pretty smart, was engaging in a calculated strategy to paint liberals as murdering hate-mongers who want all children with disabilities to die before birth. She, I think, knows she is an untruthful partisan in the Kulture Warz when she makes the charge (which keeps showing up in her comments) and just hopes it will stick.

Not making fun...very serious business.

This may be unfair to Brandybuck, but it is the most charitable explanation I can come up with.

Dagny T.|9.15.08 @ 3:27PM|#

I love the water

Crappy swimming skills aside, so do I. I spent entire summers body surfing way too far off the Oregon Coast, freaking my parents out. I love the ocean, because you can be out there for hours.

Neu Mejican|9.15.08 @ 3:30PM|#

Of course,

Brandybuck may be engaged in a sort of text-based Dadaist performance art when she makes her abortion charge.

|9.15.08 @ 3:36PM|#

Where is my T-Shirt?

|9.15.08 @ 4:32PM|#

Rosler ... enh. Nothing there ... move along.

Fairey ... when the first "obey" graphics hit the streets, I was certain they were ads for the prog-rock band Gentle Giant. It's as if Fairey took the image from their 1970 first album (or from 1978's "Giant for a Day"), shaved it, posterized it, desaturated it and called it "André".

Ojamas|9.15.08 @ 5:03PM|#

Obama is inspirational in so many ways. Even fashion has become a canvas. Just look at Obama Pajams... Ojamas. (you can Google it).

Alan|9.15.08 @ 6:09PM|#

priapismo wrote: "Do you understand what an Obama administration will mean?"

No more right wing authoritarians apointed to the Supreme Court? Let's hope so!

|9.15.08 @ 7:51PM|#

Slightly off topic--Onion article talking about anti-bush merchandise market will collapse..
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/economists_warn_anti_bush

|9.15.08 @ 11:02PM|#

I just thought Brandybuck, who is normally pretty smart, was engaging in a calculated strategy to paint liberals as murdering hate-mongers who want all children with disabilities to die before birth. She, I think, knows she is an untruthful partisan in the Kulture Warz when she makes the charge (which keeps showing up in her comments) and just hopes it will stick.

First of all, I am not a "she". Second, while I am not a very good humorist, it should have been obvious that I was engaged in sarcasm.

Most liberals do not advocate abortion just because the fetus has Down's Syndrome. But I have indeed run across some who do. Here's a quote: Dr. Lalonde said that above all else, women must be free to choose, and that popular messages to the contrary could have detrimental effects on women and their families.

This doctor is concerned that Palin keeping her baby will cause other moms to keep theirs too! Oh the horror! (To be fair, I have no idea if Dr. Lalonde is a liberal or not).

Here's another also about Palin: South Carolina Democratic chairwoman Carol Fowler sharply attacked Sarah Palin today, saying John McCain had chosen a running mate "whose primary qualification seems to be that she hasn't had an abortion."

|9.15.08 @ 11:11PM|#

if obama wins, the daily show will be cancelled before the end of his first term. liberal college students don't want to hear jon stewart make fun of obama.

Pecker|9.16.08 @ 12:07AM|#

"What happens to political art if Obama wins?"

It reloads and focuses on capitalists. Besides that'sreally who starving artists hate.

The Twelveth Imam|9.16.08 @ 12:09AM|#

"Maybe we'll finally get "Piss Mohammed" but I doubt it."

Why contaminate perfectly good piss?

Alan|9.16.08 @ 12:23AM|#

RE: Most liberals do not advocate abortion just because the fetus has Down's Syndrome.

Liberals do not advocate mandatory or obligatory abortions under any circumstances. Those of us who believe in personal freedom do not "advocate" abortion - we believe that, up to a certain point, a woman has the right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy.

Glorifying women who do decide to give birth and vilifying those who decide to terminate does indeed putting a social pressure on women to go through with a pregnancy, even when it is not in their best interest. Treating Palin as some sort of as some sort of hero for going through with her pregnancy is indeed detrimental to woman's free choice, and that is indeed detrimental to women and families in general.

And of course, Palin wants to force her "personal" choice on all women.

Sambo|9.16.08 @ 12:25AM|#

It will continue to focus on culture, as it always has. Political art is an aberration embraced by the uncreative.

I worked with young kid that created "Twelve Jon Bennets". It was just like Andy Warhol's Twelve Jackies.

He scoured the internet for remarkably similar pictures of Jon Bennet. Bennet in a hat, same poses as Warhol's "Twelve Jackie (linked below), etc. Hell of a social statement for a kid to be making, but kids these days see culture head on. John Waters bought it for his summer home.

http://www.thecityreview.com/f06cco1d.jpg

Sambo|9.16.08 @ 12:28AM|#

""Twelve Jackies""

Make that "Sixteen Jackies". Anyway...

Alan|9.16.08 @ 12:28AM|#

Contrary to Carol Fowler, it is not true that Palin was selected only because she has not had an abortion. She also has a perfectly good view of Russia from an island in her state, and that certainly gave her a big lead over Lieberman.

Sambo|9.16.08 @ 12:35AM|#

"Contrary to Carol Fowler, it is not true that Palin was selected only because she has not had an abortion. She also has a perfectly good view of Russia from an island in her state, and that certainly gave her a big lead over Lieberman."

And this relates to art how, Alan?

|9.16.08 @ 12:40AM|#

Sambo, Is there a picture somewhere of the "16 Jon Bennets"? If so, post a link, it sounds interesting.

Political art is not an "aberration", even if it may not, in general, be as interesting as a more culturally informed piece. Look at it, think about it, enjoy it. If it offends your "political sensibilities", all the better. If you want to strike back, make your own art.

Alan|9.16.08 @ 12:42AM|#

RE: How does this relate to art?

It doesn't. It relates to "Brandybuck | September 15, 2008, 11:02pm | #" just above.

Sambo|9.16.08 @ 12:42AM|#

"• Obama enacts the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to entrench the power of the homosexual lobby."

You got a problem with queers, priapismo? I never met a queer hater that wasn't a pathetically repressed, self-hating fag. My advice? Just put a dick in your mouth and let go.

Sambo|9.16.08 @ 12:47AM|#

"Wild Mushroom Macaroni and Three Cheeses with Truffle Oil"

Bookmarked that. BTW, where do you get organic bacon fat? And no, that's not a barb.

Sambo|9.16.08 @ 12:53AM|#

"Is Islamo-Erotic bad?"

Emadi's is.

Neu Mejican|9.16.08 @ 12:55AM|#

Brandybuck,

First of all, I am not a "she". Second, while I am not a very good humorist, it should have been obvious that I was engaged in sarcasm.

Dude, Brandybuck, a boy, really? Sorry.
But on your point, it seems the dadaist performance art was the right interpretation.

As for the article you linked to...I think you misread the main point Dr. Lalonde was making...

As a vocal opponent of abortion, Ms. Palin's widely discussed decision to keep her baby, knowing he would be born with the condition, may inadvertently influence other women who may lack the necessary emotional and financial support to do the same, according to André Lalonde, executive vice-president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

Dr. Lalonde said that above all else, women must be free to choose, and that popular messages to the contrary could have detrimental effects on women and their families.

Sambo|9.16.08 @ 1:03AM|#

"Sambo, Is there a picture somewhere of the "16 Jon Bennets"? If so, post a link, it sounds interesting."

I wish there were. Spent years in the art world. Best piece I've ever seen. The kid was seventeen.

Dr. Lalonde|9.16.08 @ 1:07AM|#

"Dr. Lalonde said that above all else, women must be free to choose, and that popular messages to the contrary could have detrimental effects on women and their families."

Oh, and the revenue thing.

Sambo|9.16.08 @ 1:21AM|#

"It doesn't. It relates to "Brandybuck"

Sorry. Kinda new here. Hope there's lots more art stuff. Cuts to the quick.

Napoleon Blew My Bone Apart|9.16.08 @ 2:18AM|#

"Political art is an aberration embraced by the uncreative.'

I beg to differ.

|9.16.08 @ 2:20AM|#

Dude, Brandybuck, a boy, really? Sorry.

That's what the "buck" part is all about. Otherwise I would be "Brandydoe", or "Brandylgbt".

And as for no liberals criticizing Palin for not getting abortion, I refer you to Alan above. It sounds like he doesn't like people admiring the choice Palin made. Oh noes! Can't be influencing anyone against abortion!

Neu Mejican|9.16.08 @ 3:28AM|#

Brandybuck,

Dude...re-read alan again...you just don't get it.

Alan|9.16.08 @ 2:55PM|#

RE: And as for no liberals criticizing Palin for not getting abortion, I refer you to Alan above.

I didn't criticize her for her choice. I criticized those who aggrandize her choice as if it were the one and only right choice.

RE: he doesn't like people admiring the choice Palin made. Can't be influencing anyone against abortion!

That's true, I don't think you should be influencing anyone against abortion. I think you should be minding your own business.

By the way, has anyone on this site ever heard of MYOB? That used to be a libertarian value. I guess times have changed.

Neu Mejican, thanks for your support.

Neu Mejican|9.16.08 @ 6:16PM|#

That's what the "buck" part is all about. Otherwise I would be "Brandydoe"

You can't opt to use a handle based on a Hobbit family and expect to exude maleness, sorry. I mean hobbits are pretty much just fat flightless fairies, right?

Alan, no problem.
Did you see The Daily Show at the RNC?

Samantha Bee with anomia asking...

"She exercise her "option", no that's not the word, what is it...decision? judgement? Help me out, there's another word for it."

The contortions those delegates went through to avoid the word choice was astounding.

Neu Mejican|9.16.08 @ 6:20PM|#

Samantha Bee, Palin and choice:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184097&title=bristol-palins-choice

OO===D|9.16.08 @ 8:06PM|#

"http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184097&title=bristol-palins-choice"

That young brunette is hot!

JD|9.17.08 @ 1:18PM|#

I hope Obama wins for one reason: at least when a Democrat wins an election, angry Republicans don't scrawl graffiti all over my neighborhood.

Reason Magazine

Get Reason E-mail Updates!

Site comments/questions:

Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:

Editorial & Production Offices:

advertisements