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.
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