Comments on: “You’re on the right track, comrade Obama!”

By: Man SL

Man SL — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:30:09 +0000

Fascist aesthetics are better. Or its the same aesthetic. The Nazis also called each other comrade, maybe the Russian guy was just trying to insult Obama.

By: GST

GST — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:18:11 +0000

Ah yes, “street cred among the youth” and “speaking to the youth and the urban community in a language they understood”–that’s where he lost me!

By: Matsby

Matsby — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:05:09 +0000

I also love Art Nouveau – and the 60s interpretation of it – like in that last one you posted.

By: Matsby

Matsby — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:02:33 +0000

I don’t. He didn’t seek out that style. Fairey made an original design for himself. Obama recognised Fairey’s relevence as a young artist and Fairey’s street cred among the youth. And so it was a way of speaking to the youth and the urban community in a language they understood. He wrote Fairey a letter recognizing his contribution to art – apart from that poster. (Pandering? Maybe)

I don’t mean to ignore the atrocities of Communism. That is real. I do apriciate the use of art in Communism and Socialist states – if you research it, the aesthetics were major for them. And the Russian Constructivist, and Post Modern styles in the poster design are beautiful.

Also there are certain principals in Communism I do respect.

Sorry I didn’t mean to threadjack this and make it about art.

By: GST

GST — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:53:47 +0000

By the way, my favorite poster artist has to be Chris Onstad for his Great Outdoor Fight series. “Three days. Three acres. Three thousand men.”

http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-35012723407042_2058_3159237

http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-35012723407042_2058_3835816

http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-35012723407042_2058_1931011

http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/yhst-35012723407042_2058_4083045

By: GST

GST — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:46:47 +0000

But Matsby, shouldn’t you be at least a little embarrassed that your guy uses the same type of iconography as, say, for example, Joseph Stalin?

By: Matsby

Matsby — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Exactly. That poster is designed by my favorite graphic designer – Shephard Fairey.

I have it on a T-shirt.

By: GST

GST — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:43:15 +0000

Also, it’s fun to chuckle indulgently at Communists now, now that their totalitarian ambitions have been more or less confined to just the poor bastards in Cuba and North Korea. But last century, when they killed about 100 million people, give or take–not so funny!

By: GST

GST — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:39:12 +0000

We do have propaganda posters in their style: http://cyanatrendland.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/obama_hope_poster_fairey.jpg

By: Matsby

Matsby — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:37:51 +0000

I kind of like Communists. I mean I disagree with them on many levels, but on other I kind of agree with them.

And their asthetics? Awesome. I wish we had some awesome propaganda like they have. And I kind of dig the uniforms too.