Six years ago street artist Shepard Fairey created “Hope & Change” posters from an AP photo to help elect Sen. Barack Obama and usher in a bigger machine while claiming the moniker of anti-establishment artist. Being a propagandist for the political ruling class is not the job of the artist. That’s best left for Leni Riefenstahl and the brown shirts of the past.
Artists should be the consciousness of the people asking questions of the political-ruling-class, like “Why can’t I keep my insurance,” “why is the IRS singling me out” or “why was Benghazi blamed on a film?” The anti-establishment soul of the arts has become the establishment.
A government that doesn’t deliver its hope and change to the people gives the true artist an opportunity to speak out. That voice is slowly creeping into the art world. I wouldn’t call it conservative art because mainstream artists rarely call their art liberal.
With an imperial President wielding a nine-iron as a scepter and playing golf on the greens of drought-ridden California one unknown arts is telling it like it is. The artwork in question, which features an image of Obama golfing with the message “SUBPAR,” is being seen all over Santa Monica earlier this week.
Will we see more of this art, or will this artist stay in the shadows for fear of his art being taken away?
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