Art Imitates Politics

When Art Goes Negative.
BITCH, by VonDada – in limited edition print

If art is a reflection of life, it’s getting ugly out there. When Obama was galvanizing supporters around a message of “Hope”, famed Obey Giant artist, Shepard Fairey made a brilliant move with the release of his Obama, “HOPE” poster (and smaller “PROGRESS” edition). A couple of months ago the election demeanor was different – “Hope” was the message of the day.

Since that time things have changed. this weekend, artist VonDada updates the message to more accurately reflect the shift in the national mood, with the release of “BITCH”. The number of the production run was 200.

NOTE:

I personally have nothing against Hillary (nor anything for Hillary either, for that matter). I happen to think the timing of VonDada’s release is impeccable. It is indeed the message of the moment.

Comments

[John M. Gintz]

I could not agree more with you observations here Chris. I too have nothing against the Bitch except for the need to get away from the last several decades of presidential regime dominated by Clinton's, Bush's, (or Reagan/Bush)...

I have found myself taken in by Obama's speaking ability. Whether I should be admiring him or his speech writer is up for debate...BUT, I am impressed with his poise and demeanor.

I happen to favor Darth Nader myself but we all know that will never happen!

J. Gintz

[Chris]

Thanks John,

I had some debate over covering this. I think it could, understandably, be interpreted in a misogynistic way by some. I certainly have nothing against women in positions of high power, and I even voted for Hillary for Senator. There is an advantage to us in New York, having a Jr. Senator who punches out of her weight class. I've not followed every play-by-play, but when issues have mattered to me, she's generally been on my side of those issues. I'd even go so far as to say that she's being "unfairly" taken down in the current Democratic nomination process... but life's not always dealt me "fair" cards either (and hey, they do call it "politics" for a reason). Truth is, I'm not happy with any options we have. Anyone who cares to understand my dissatisfaction with our current contenders can skip down to my Bloomberg article.

I suspect Obama will be our next president. If that is the case, I wish for him success in the endeavors of his future administration. I wish for a successful administration should Hillary or McCain or whomever become our next President. I may be skeptical but I'm not partisan. I gain nothing from any of their potential failures. As incompetent and disgraceful as Bush has been as a President, I would still hope against hope that his last eight months in office show some unexpected successes, or at least avoid catastrophes. I get no joy out of more national embarrassment.

Unfortunately, I see little signs for optimism in the closing months of the Bush administration, nor am I optimistic about our three likely successors. My biggest fear about Obama is that he comes into office without enough experience, specifically executive management experience, and that bad management from an Obama administration could lead to a one-term pendulum swing back the policies of Bush... perhaps Jeb.

I find Obama's speeches spectacular. He is eloquent, tall, charismatic. So was Warren Harding. And most historians consider Harding to be either the worst, or among the worst Presidents in all US history (at least Bush Jr. is doing Harding's descendants a favor).

Oh, depressing subject.

-Chris

[Judy]

What if the artist had used the N-word on the Obama poster instead? I'm no fan of Hillary, but it's worth noting that misogyny is often tolerated (notice that we don't call it the B-word) when (overt) racism in a similar context would be considered shocking.

[Nadia]

Excellent point, Judy. This art may be intended as commentary, but it definitely seems slanted against Hillary. "I've got nothing against the bitch" is typical of the mixed up animus towards her. Is being feisty and opinionated a poor quality in a politician?

[don]

Obama's poster should say PLATITUDES.