America scope of this «Obamamaniya». The popularity of the black presidential candidate is compared with the glory of John F. Kennedy (John F. Kennedy) and Martin Luther King (Martin Luther King). One of the reasons for an incredibly successful PR-strategy for Barack Obama (Barack Obama) is called its visual component. A candidate to make a name for promises to stop the majority of Americans hated the war in Iraq has put itself at the service of contemporary art and design.

Initially, let us say a few words about the «visual strategy» Barack Obama campaign. This attack is from two flanks: on the one hand, black senator positions itself as a «normal person», rather than an outsider who somehow miraculously break through to power. Here the aim is that those American voters who traditionally voted for Republicans (in particular, wealthy white men older) do not perceive Obama as not representative of a minority or as a revolutionary threat. Emphasis is not on the race against Democrat candidate, not for his youth and not for the support of socially vulnerable population groups, but on his competence, ability to run a great uninterrupted functioning machine. In February, a well-known designer and critic Michael Birutė (Michael Bierut) in an interview with Newsweek identified the basic elements of «visual attack» Obama campaign. First, it is a logo candidate, a schematic of the sunrise, concluded in the letter «A». According to him, such a symbol would help brand «Obama» organically enter into the lives of Americans. Simple and stylish, not fussy and do not use offensive logos such well-known companies like Apple, Nike, Volkswagen. Secondly, on the «order» in the Obama campaign shows yet, and the fact that the words in all promotional materials - posters, stickers, extensions, etc. - are made with one type. This font without zasechek called Gotham. It was developed specifically for the leading men's magazine GQ, and so is the ease, accuracy, elegance - unlike many other more heavy fonts that came from Germany, France or Switzerland. Birute said that most of its amazing that even in the small towns, where Obama zaezzhaet absolutely at all to a single material given to his supporters, mentioned the same font. According to him, this fact simply fenomenalen. He says that even the largest corporate clients is almost impossible to achieve such absolute control over the visuals. Interview with Birutė was issued even before the victory of Obama in the race for a seat candidate from the Democratic Party, which many said that the black candidate concedes to Hillary Clinton (Hillary Clinton) because of lack of sufficient experience. Birute observed that, unlike Obama, Clinton has not been able to achieve such coherence in the propaganda machine. According to an interview, if the government Obama would operate as efficiently and smoothly, and his team of designers, the Americans do not regret their choice.

Order and chaos. Both of these elements are present in more than the election of Obama. For «apollonicheskoe» beginning with the designers, but for «dionisiyskoe» - contemporary artists, most of whom belong to the «natural» Traffic Street Art ( «Street Art»). ARTinvestment.RU already wrote about the artist Shepard Feira (Shepard Fairey), whose portrait of Barack Obama now are sold at a charity auction Charitybuzz . This portrait of the word «HOPE» ( «Hope»), as well as its variation with the words «PROGRESS» ( «Progress») and «CHANGE» ( «Change») vengeance rastirazhirovany posters, which covered the streets of American cities, on t-shirts and icons, which likes to be young. This «dionisiyskaya» Party campaign targets young people who see in Obame rebel, promising very different than when George Bush (George W. Bush), the policy. For them, Obama - outsider. A candidate for whom artists fans without any indication «top» hang on the streets of homemade posters. A growing movement of Street Art has been at the forefront of artists supporting the senator-democrat. The influential U.S. publication The Wall Street Journal analyzes «Obama Art», as well as the entry of works of art.

According posters Feira Shepard, released a limited edition, originally sold at the official website of Barack Obama at a price of 45 dollars apiece. Now these same posters can be found on online auction eBay for at least several thousand. The Wall Street Journal even lead schedule, where the price dynamics of on-line sales of the poster Feira «PROGRESS». The growth in prices seen impressive. They are expected to dramatically skaknut up if Obama is elected president. Tenli Vaughn (Tanley Wong), a 30-year employee of the company Fannie Mae in Washington, tells how he bought for $ 75 a reproduction of the work «HOPE» and later sold them at 10 (!) Times more expensive. «I am happy that I managed so well to sell prints and make money to buy more art, - he said. - Art - an investment».

In general, American artists supported presidential candidates since the time of George Washington (George Washington), but art campaign of this magnitude - this is something new. Probably, many of the posters created by Shepard Feira, Inglishem Ron (Ron English) and other contemporary artists, will in time become classics of political art. One of the most famous works of this kind is a print of Andy Warhol (Andy Warhol) «Vote for McGovern» ( «Vote for MakGoverna»), created in 1972. The work is a depiction of Republican candidate Richard Nixon (Richard Nixon), the rival Democrat George MakGoverna (George MacGovern) in the presidential election. A Nixon met in a very green tint to the contrary. Now such Warhol prints valued dearly: in June, one print of the series was sold in Santa Monica for 23 thousand dollars.

Experts say that Republican rival, Obama, John McCain (John McCain) did not enjoy the support of artists. According to statistics, eBay, over the past two months at the auction were sold, only six of the «Art for McCain», with the average price of each of them was 57 dollars. A works «Obama art» in the same period was sold entire 899 pieces at an average price of 127 dollars. This is due to the fact that the posters and collages, praising McCain, quite a bit. «Artists are always dragged to a more" leftist "candidates», - said the famous artist-fotorealist Klouz Chuck (Chuck Close), on whose account the portraits of Democrat Hillary Clinton, her husband Bill (Bill Clinton) and Al Gore (Al Gore).

Market «Obama art» is now experiencing an upswing. But some experts have expressed doubts about its future. Prices increase with great speed, speculation flourishes - symptoms «bubble» there. In addition, the demand for this art from time to time falls. For example, when the scandal took place in March with the pastor Dzheremayey Obama, Reverend Wright (Rev. Jeremiah Wright), has publicly expressed his anti-American views, the prices for posters and other items «Obama art» greatly declined. But the majority said that the Obama campaign as «historic» (after all, has ever black candidate selected so close to the presidency) and the artists participating in it so popular and talented that the inglorious end of art that glorify Barak, certainly does not shine.

most popular work on the candidate Democrats - Feira prints Shepard and Ron Inglisha. The latter became famous because of its provocative version of pop art, which he calls a «low expressionism» (Abject Expressionism) or «Agita Pop» (Agit Pop). At the most popular artist's paintings depicted the boys in suits, and soldiers with cigarettes in mouth (among other things, his own sons), as well as large, heat fat Ronald McDonald. For Obama Inglish made posters depicting Obama with the hair and edges of Abraham Lincoln (Abraham Lincoln). Many artists in the creation of posters have pop artovskih cliche. But some inspired unexpected sources, such as Californian-Latin American duo The Date Farmers, while creating a «Obama art» Poster style which uses the time the Mexican Revolution.

Major auctions also draw attention to works of art that support Obama. «This is an excellent connection of art and propaganda, - said Alex W. Smith (Alex W. Smith), a specialist in contemporary and street art auction house Phillips de Pury & Co. - Obama has turned into such an icon, that of [its depicting. - Ed. ] will be valued at the market, regardless of whether they lose or win ». This lo «a hero of our time». Another auction house, Bonhams, this fall will be traded prints with Ron Inglisha estimeytom 2 thousand dollars apiece. The original prints were sold on the Internet at a price of 200 dollars.

Many unhappy frenzied activity of market participants «Obama Art». Shepard Feira already called «greedy» those who purchase his prints with the sole purpose of enriching. The artist called the sellers to donate part of proceeds to the Obama campaign. Some of his colleagues, for example, an artist and designer from Chicago Ray Noland (Ray Noland), try something to curb the market get into a wax. His imprint «From East to West coast» ( «Coast to Coast»), which shows the candidate standing on the basketball court at the White House will be sold on eBay for $ 200. On its website Noland sells it for 75. Last month, 25-year-old artist Ken Harmen (Ken Harman) founded the site of Obama Art Report, where he tracks the price of «Obama Art» and the place where you can buy it cheaper. In his collection of posters and prints on a candidate, he spent about 4 thousand dollars, now this collection is estimated at 15-20 thousand.

expressed his admiration for Obama, as well as in the warm rays of his fame, many artists seek. But some do not share a universal passion black presidential candidate. Designer Baxter Orr (Baxter Orr) from Austin, Texas, recently set up a poster - a parody of the famous prints Feira, where the word «HOPE» replaced by «DOPE» ( «Drugs»). This sarcasm against Obama, who once admitted that the college years trying to «diabolical potion». Posters sell for $ 30 at Orr, but the buyers are sufficiently small. «If I glorified Obama, like all, it just earned a lot of money», - said their creator.

Recently, the New York performance-artist Yazmani Arboleda (Yazmani Arboleda), in order to draw attention to his art, an exhibition called «The killing of Hillary Clinton /Barack Obama Murder». This provocative exhibition, among other things, exposed to mask Obama says «You too can become the next president of the United States - African-Americans». The event was closed with a terrible scandal. Interestingly, the public rebelled so strongly if the subject of bullying has been the current U.S. President George W. Bush? .. The answer to this question seems obvious.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: online.wsj.com , www.newsweek.com , artinvestment.ru