Garling Gauge

Hillary Clinton’s New Communist-Style Poster

Retro propaganda posters are all the rage

In the waning days of the 2008 Democratic primary race, the Clinton’s campaign has released a new purchasable poster of Sen. Clinton as stoic visionary. Similar to Mao Zedong posters in the 1960s, this poster is an iconic image of the former first lady.

The cult of personality centered around Mao Zedong through People’s Republic of China propaganda department to promote nationalism and banish liberal bourgeoisie was extremely successful, and has been adopted recently by advertisers.

Mao Zedong propaganda poster and Obey Giant

Shepard Fairey, known best for his ObeyGiant poster, recently came out with a Che Guevara/Lenin-style poster of Sen. Barack Obama.

Shepard Fairey’s design and Lenin

Both Fairey’s Obama poster and Obey Giant poster have been subject to mockery.

Fairey mockery and ObeyThePureBred

Iconic images of Ernesto Guevara, the Argentine Marxist revolutionary, have been a popular symbol for revolution and counterculture worldwide. A 1960 photo taken of him by Alberto Korda during a memorial service for the freighter La Coubre, entitled Guerrillero Heroico, was transformed into one of the most recognizable images in the world.

Using his own style guerrilla tactics, Shepard Fairey’s depiction of Obama has been wildly popular, combining both elements of Lenin and Che. As told by the Washington Post, Fairey wanted it to go “viral”:

In other words, he wanted to make posters that the cool cats would want. The 2008 Democratic primary season equivalent of the Che poster (with all that implies). More Mao, more right now. The kind of poster that might make its way onto dorm room walls of fanboys. The kind of poster that might sell on eBay, as a signed Fairey Obama recently did, for $5,900. He wanted his posters to go viral.

While aesthetically Barack is more Lenin, Hillary is certainly more Mao.

With Mao, Lenin, and Che as inspiration, for Clinton and Obama propaganda posters are back. While Fairey’s Obama poster was limited to 350 prints, Hillary’s is on sale now, for $40.

You decide.

See also: ‘08 Campaign Posters Interpreted

UPDATE:

It appears that the orange lined background has been replaced with lame wavering red stripes.  Pity the designers/campaign gave in to a little scrutiny.

Images: http://bigchase.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/obey.jpg, http://www.yellowrant.com/Mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=1&Itemid=39, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara, http://www.123posters.com/che.htm, http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000669.html, http://miamipress.net/?p=2485, http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2006-05-16/art_rev-1.jpg, http://dreamdogsart.typepad.com/art/2008/05/heel-disney-get.html, http://miamipress.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/snob.jpg, http://www.chinabooks.com/cart/files/t_19428.jpg, http://www.hillarystore.com/store/HC0925.html

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