While pounding the pavement at the seemingly endless satellite fairs during the Art Basel Miami over the past week, it has become pretty clear that the art world loves Barack Obama. Paintings featuring the President elect are now as popular (and ubiquitous) as those bejeweled Damien Hirst skulls were two years ago. I can’t help but feel a bit conflicted about it, though. Because while art has always reflected the times (and how can one not be affected by the major change Obama’s election symbolizes?), the thought of so many paintings of the guy being up for sale feels a bit exploitative, kind of like all of those Obama coins that are for sale on the Shopping Network. Because the same way I bought every single election day paper I could find from the London Guardian to the New York Times, I’m sure there are others with deeper pockets looking to purchase items that commemorate the moment. Here are just a few of the many, many, many, many Obama art works I’ve seen this week.

 

Posted: December 5th, 2008  Category: Life  Comments: No comments#