Obama: Machiavellian Leftist? / Fairey: Plagiarist?

Shepard Fairey will not go away. Psychologist Michael Shaw writing on Huffpo expresses anguish in his analysis of Fairey’s new Time Cover image. Describing Fairey’s interpretation of Obama’s victory as Machiavellian Leftist, Shaw goes on to say

What this shallow illustration seems to bypass, however, is how Obama really won the presidency, which -- beyond all the packaging, and the cultish fans, and the war issue -- was his demonstration of judgment (on issues as diverse as talking to foreign leaders; being more assertive regarding Pakistan; and not finessing the scale of the economic meltdown) as well as his calm and steadiness under fire.

As refreshing as the Obama candidacy was, Shaw’s analysis disregards the importance of “the packaging, and the cultish fans” in modern politics. We live in a rockstar society and Obama possesses a flair for the dramatic that perpetuated his rockstar image. If Obama was a balding Irishman with Goldwater glasses and a rough Boston accent would “his demonstration of judgment… his calm and steadiness under fire” have propelled him to the White House? In my opinion Hillary Clinton would have cruised to the Democratic nomination and Cindy McCain could very well be measuring the drapes in the Lincoln bedroom.

There are worse things to be than a Machiavellian Leftist. In the modern political climate the Machiavellian virtue of unemotional pragmatism is still a valuable asset. Obama’s recent decision to be sworn in by Rick Warren displayed this virtue and I think it will pay dividends for him down the road.

Regarding Fairey, the Huffpo member DubiousAtBest brings some interesting info regarding his appropriation of others images into his work. Is this plagiarism? Sadly, I feel it is. At least Fairey is relaying them to the modern generation.

Dew Tour...Finally

Today marks the beginning of prelims at the Winter Dew Tour’s debut in Breckinridge, Colorado. For many in the snow sports industry who have pined for an event of this stature this has been a long time coming. Snowboarding and especially Freeskiing have struggled to build events outside of the Winter X-Games that are capable of garnering a national audience. The Winter Dew Tour, which features three stops (Breck, CO, Mt.Snow, VT, Northstar, CA) shows that sponsors are now willing to invest in the viability of these sports at a national level. The event will be covered by NBC and USA today. Click here for air times.

While this may be detrimental for smaller events such as the Paul Mitchell Freeski Opens and the Vans Triple Crown, I think that the rising tide will lift all ships. More coverage of these sports will help to give them a sense of continuity that is currently elusive. Outside of the X-games and a couple Fuel T.V. broadcasts, winter action sports are largely inaccessible to the general public. Hopefully this tour can create the drama and personalities that its summer counterpart has done so successfully. Athletes such as BMX rider Mike Spinner and skateboarder Chaz Ortiz are now marquee names after breaking out in the Summer Dew Tour.

Before I go total corpo and get accused of selling out I wanted to post the following video as a testament to the attitudes of the athletes competing this weekend. Traveling Circus is a web series created by the Line skiers Will Wesson and Andy Parry. They will not be competing in the Dew Tour but their approach to skiing and especially rail features is having a significant effect of the progression of the sport.

Traveling Circus - Episode 3 - The Incredible Journey NY to CO from Line Skis on Vimeo.

Sacrier than O% Interest rates

How the World Works delivers the beef. Housing starts are the lowest in America since 1959 and Americans are now almost twice twice as populous as they were then.( 178 mil then, 306 mil now) Maybe its time to start clinging to religion and guns.

As an aside I heard that Obama has finally finished Team of Rivals and picked up some Jeff Sachs. I'm now taking bets on who recommended this to him. Odds as follows...

Goolsbee > 2-1
Summers > 5-1
Bernstein > 50-1

30's parkour > GIZMO!

If a martian landed in your backyard and could comprehend any language on earth what films would you show him/her to plead your case for the value of humanity? Gandhi? Das Boot? Saving Private Ryan?

Whatever the roster I nominate Gizmo. This pre-beta mixtape of ridiculous footage is required viewing for anyone who has ever enjoyed an episode of Jackass. It is an amalgamation of footage from the early 1900’s that captures the adventurous industrial nature of humanity better than any film I have ever seen. Though many of the film’s participants meet sadistic failure, I personally find that all the more endearing. It is a testament to the will of an earlier generation and a challenge to the modern one.

The footage I posted earlier this week is a clip from Gizmo. Thanks to Kottke.org for the connection. Gizmo was produced by the multi-talented Howard Smith in 1977 and is available for full viewing though Google video. Smith won an oscar for his 1972 documentary Marjoe.

According to Amazon, customers who bought Gizmo ($149.99 new,$135.00 used) also commonly bought Shepard Fairey's E Pluribus Venom. Can someone explain the difference between coincidence and irony for me again?

Shepard Fairey Update/ Depression Era Parkour

In my post regarding Shepard Fairey and the Sarkozy posters, I failed to mention that Fairey’s work would be the subject of an upcoming exhibit at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand will open on February 6th with a party DJ’d by the artist. According to the ICA press release, the show will feature over eighty works including a mural commissioned specifically for the exhibit. If you are in Boston in February keep your eyes peeled because Fairey will be creating public art works at sites around the city.

The exhibit will remain at the ICA though August for those of you in Caribou, St. Albans, and North Adams who only make it to town once a year for the annual Sox game. Perchance you should be in the city and have cash on hand the opening night admission is $25 and the everyday fee is $12. Starving artists can hit up the Institute on Thursdays from 5-9 pm for no charge and save cash to enjoy some delicious Anna’s Taqueria.

P.S. (I’m a little skeptical of its authenticity but check out this video of 1930’s parkour via Buzzfeed)

Shredding Venice Beach (minus the beach)

In a scene reminiscent of Shaun Murray’s Pro Wake Boarder, high tides in Venice over the past few days allowed wake boarder Duncan Zuur to get some epic photos. Equipped with a winch and yards of line, Zuur was able to ride the piazza San Marco in a way no one ever has. Though Police quickly shut him down Zuur had another go in an alley down the street.

Props to Red Bull for supporting such an innovative stunt. The alley photo was ranked #1 on Digg. The prominently placed logos only further establish Red Bull as the global purveyors of the uniquely absurd.

Peep the video:

Shepard Fairey Has A Posse

Yesterday evening, another indication of the global effect of skate culture stared at me through the eyes of one Nicolas Sarkozy. A reader of Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish posted this photo taken in Paris over the weekend. While this is a testament to the iconography of Obama, it also portrays the broad appeal of skate influenced street art.

The creator of the original Obama image is Shepard Fairey. You may recognize Fairey as the mastermind behind OBEY. His tag of Andre the Giant was among the most popular viral images spread in the late twentieth century. Joshua Bearman gives an excellent account of how the Fairey-Obama connection came about here.

The fact that the Obama campaign felt comfortable using Fairey's imagery speaks to their saavy for the pulse of the electorate. Each presidential election year the media and the candidates talk about how valuable the youth vote is "this time," despite young people's traditionally lackluster reputation for showing up to the polls. Finally they were right, but not because of new youth voters. Even if the first time youngins had stayed at home Obama would have won by about 2 points.

The success of Obama's campaign lied in its appeal to the youthful idealism in people of all ages. Fairey's poster helped create the perception that Obama personifies the modern American ethos. Six years ago who would have thought that a French president would gladly posture to gain a little yankee gravitas? I don't have a solid grasp of French mores, but maybe it would be better for Sarkozy to take up parkour ?