When I first saw that at work this morning, I wasn't sure how to react. I'm usually a fan of underground, guerilla art, but this one was a bit different for some reason. Did it evoke the racial stigmas of America's past? socialism? How would Heath feel about all this? How would Hugo feel about this? Are conservative activists actually being creative?
The poster has been recently spotted spreading across Los Angeles, California. And no one's owning up to it. Major news outlets aren't even showing the image on their websites, opting to direct visitors to other, more sleazier sites. I think I would have liked it better without the SOCIALISM part. It sort of loses its allure. Skewing the public perception. And it makes me think that maybe El Rushbo had something to do with this? And that would be really unfortunate.
For fairness sake, I included some other pictures that all play with the same imagery of Obama and/or The Joker, just to see if any of them caused the same sentiment in me as this one did. They didn't. But, isn't this what good art is supposed to do? Affect us in a way that causes a stir, compels us to question and provoke our thought?
Ron English, Obama/Lincoln
Dillon, Uncle Sam Joker
James Lillis, Joke
and of course......
The Original - Shepherd Fairey, Hope - HTown installment
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