The assassination of Obama
A provocative storm in a tea cup earlier today as Yazmany Arboleda opens a temporary gallery with 'the assassination of Hilary Clinton, the assassination of Barack Obama' on the street-level window - here.
The artist's defence of this inflammatory text - that it concerns character assassination - is futile and irrelevant. The chord the text strikes is the fear that should Obama win the Presidential election, he is in real danger of being killed. And the fear behind this fear is that America is not yet ready for a Black President, and that the dying days of MLK, Malcolm X and the Kennedys are just a flying bullet away.
Equally misguided however is the notion that the work is inherently racist. From the photos from the inside (on the left), it seems that rather Arboleda is exploring the knife edge between liberal progressivism (the Kennedy family baton now in Obama's hands) and the hicksville racist underbelly of America. Its uncomfortable viewing, as any representation of uncomfortable reality can only be, but that doesn't make it racist. Still less does it make it an exhibition that should be closed down.
Posts
6 comments:
Just before I publish my comment I want to make an impudent plug here.
Wow, the strange things people can come up with.
He got what he wanted - cheap publicity.
In my view, its not art, its not racist, and i expect its certainly not funny to the Clinton or Obama family. One could argue that it is incitement - an encouragement to those who are already inclined to commit such deeds.
I say they should just let the dweeb carry on with his ridiculous exhibition and quit giving him publicity.
No less inflammatory than this contoversial cover of the 21 July 2008 issue of The New Yorker magazine. I wonder if the magazine was shut down and its Editor and Publisher hauled in for questioning by the Secret Service like Yazmany Arboleda was? I doubt it.
dutOuch?
Hi Jeremy,
Thought you will be interested in this editorial piece from Reuben Abati this past Friday,
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/article02//indexn3_html?pdate=150808&ptitle=The%20N100%20million%20dinner%20for%20Obama%20&cpdate=160808.
Nike
Post a Comment