January 2009

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In the news this week it has been reported that as the U.S. presidential campaign reaches its climax, the Obama Victory Fund is hoping to raise millions of dollars through the sale of a set of limited edition prints.

Given that the art market appears so far to have remained immune to the global economic crisis, the ‘Artists for Obama’ project seems a shrewd move. Organised by Gemini G.E.L., the Los Angeles artists’ workshop and print-publisher, 13 high-profile American artists (John Baldessari, Jonathan Borofsky, Frank Gehry, Ann Hamilton, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Brice Marsden, Julie Mehretu, Ken Price, Susan Rothenburg, Ed Ruscha, Richard Serra and Richard Tuttle) have donated their works to the project. In turn, the complete set of prints will be given to donors who pledge more than $20,000 to the Democratic campaign. (It’s not clear whether this offer will be backdated, thus providing extra incentive to give to the campaign in its final crucial weeks). The 13-print set comprises an edition of 150 and its selling point is obvious: owning a set of prints by blue-chip artists, regardless of their association with the historic Obama campaign, is surely a fail-safe investment.

It’s not the first time that Gemini has been involved in such a project: in 1996 the studio helped to raise $1.4 million for President Clinton’s campaign, and $1.7 million for Senator John Kerry in 2004. But as Gemini co-owner Stanley Grinstein explains, ‘there’s no Daumier or Goya here’. In fact, there’s something faintly ironic about the contribution to Obama’s populist message by superpowers such as Jasper Johns, often associated with late Abstract-Expressionism. Held up as the paragons of formalism, made up of a series of shapes and lines, the work of the Abstract Expressionists was supposed to reject subject matter and, presumably, political engagement. And unlike Honoré Daumier’s caricatures satirising the July Monarchy of 1830s, none of the ‘Artists for Obama’ prints involves anything remotely resembling ‘political’ content. Instead, the prints are simply representative of the various artists’ current projects.

Clement Greenberg would certainly have had something to say about the unwelcome intrusion of politics into the realms of ‘high art’. But Grinstein firmly believes that the artists are playing their part. ‘You’re not just absolved from the real world; you have to be participating in it’, he says, remarking that the response from artists wanting to contribute to the project was overwhelming. He fully expects the Obama portfolios to sell out.

Certainly, Obama appears to have won the support of a wide range of artists and performers throughout his campaign. The ‘Artists for Obama’ project, aimed at America’s liberal, moneyed elite, represents only the cherry on the cake. Almost comically, John McCain counts veteran Hollywood actor Jon Voight and country singer John Rich as his most high-profile supporters in the artistic community. The popularity of ‘will.i.am’, the hip-hop singer whose song ‘Yes We Can’ has become a huge internet hit, is further testament to Obama’s cult-like following in popular art and music.

If you type ‘Obama art’ into Google, it’s a different story entirely. Here you can find a wide range of political posters designed in support of the Obama campaign, featuring Soviet propaganda-style images that are little short of iconic. The ubiquitous Obama ‘Hope’ posters designed by street artist Shepard Fairey (pictured above) are recognised and emulated by many. Needless to say, in the end, it won’t be the actions of America’s art collectors making the final choice – it will be the ‘hockey moms and Joe 6-packs’ – but the co-opting of art into politics is increasingly a marketing tool for America’s Democrats, raising the question again – should art be a-political?

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