[updated] Editorial illustration of Obama as…what exactly?

Okay, anyone, what exactly does this illustration show? I’ve written the artist to find out what he believes. Here’s the newspaper endorsement that accompanied the picture. I find the picture to be pretty over the top - but then, I really don’t understand what I’m looking at in it.

Hattip Donna Darko.

UPDATE: See here for the artist’s explanation to me of the illustration.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:57 am May 16th, 2008 in Campaigning, Barack Obama, Marketing, WH2008, Media, Politics

Comments

16 Responses to “[updated] Editorial illustration of Obama as…what exactly?”

1 Joseph on May 16th, 2008 11:13 am

Obviously it’s a homage to cheesy 70’s album covers.

Like this:

or this:
2 Cheri on May 16th, 2008 11:14 am

OMG. Obama as romance hero/savior? you got me.
3 Jill Miller Zimon on May 16th, 2008 11:15 am

Now - what I really want to know is - esp. from the die-hard Obama supporters, I mean, come on - isn’t this over the top and kind of creepy?

I don’t know - it really kind of irks me.

I really hope the artist writes me back.
4 Cheri on May 16th, 2008 11:21 am

I strongly support Obama, and it’s still very, very creepy. What I find even creepier is the newspaper running the illustration as part of a serious editorial endorsement.
5 Joseph on May 16th, 2008 11:25 am

It’s not a serious editorial endorsement. It’s in Portland’s version of the Free Times or the Other Paper.

Would a serious editorial contain this sentence:

“As we survey the current political landscape, we feel an urge to reach for the Maker’s Mark”
6 Jill Miller Zimon on May 16th, 2008 11:26 am

I don’t even know what Maker’s Mark is - I did see that line though lol.
7 Joseph on May 16th, 2008 11:32 am

Maker’s Mark is “hand-crafted Kentucky bourbon whiskey”.

My point is: it’s not supposed be too serious. It’s supposed to hip and ironic and kind of funny.

I’m sure that’s what the artist will tell you.

Note: it’s 3 hours earlier in Oregon. And artists tend to sleep late. So be patient.
8 Modern Esquire on May 16th, 2008 12:04 pm

Correction: Joseph a GREAT “hand-crafted Kentucky bourbon whiskey.”

Is it really a unicorn in the background?

Jill, ask the artist what he or she drew if they had gone with Clinton. Ha!
9 Joseph on May 16th, 2008 12:16 pm

What is he holding in his hand?

A belt buckle with his initials on it? A cell phone? Some kind of remote control?
10 Jill Miller Zimon on May 16th, 2008 12:17 pm

a personalized tricorder?

so - is the endorsement for real, then? again - what is this supposed to mean? lol I can’t make any sense of it. could be me.
11 Joseph on May 16th, 2008 12:23 pm

They do endorse him- but you have to click through to the next page to get to it.
12 hells kitchen on May 16th, 2008 2:45 pm

Can someone explain to me the meaning of the dazzling roses in what appears to be (modest choice of words) his hip area?
13 Anon on May 16th, 2008 3:13 pm

The background of the picture almost certainly portrays downtown Portland (link). And the Portland Rose Festival is REALLY big. I don’t know about the horse/unicorn, but I assume that’s also Portland-related.

The figure of Barack Obama emerging from the river (the Willamette) seems reminiscent of a baptism. Perhaps the artist is alluding to one of the baptisms of the Bible, e.g., Moses, John or Jesus, with Sen. Obama corresponding to one of the three?
14 Obama editorial portrait artist explains Wilmette Week illustration | Writes Like She Talks on May 16th, 2008 9:30 pm

[…] couldn’t figure out what this portrait was about, so I wrote the artist, Lukas Ketner, to find out. Here’s what he wrote: Hello […]
15 Jill Miller Zimon on May 16th, 2008 9:34 pm

UPDATE: Read more here in a letter to me from the illustration’s artist re: what he was thinking when he made the illustration.
16 oengus on May 16th, 2008 10:20 pm

Its cynical, the artist is depicting the pretty picture that surrounds the man.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a president that we could all feel good about?”

He has some elements of zombie like followers, which is what you get when you talk like a preacher. Preachers look for your emotions, they can really get you going, he really outed himself on John Stuart. Stuart asked him to Obamatise some statements and he did it on queue, listen for the inflection, its heavy.

The Mark of the Maker, more cynicism the hand of god…a preacher.

I would say he sat in the church and asked himself how does he do that, and he figured it out and emulates it. He could get you clapping and dancing in the isles, but only if you want to clap and dance in the isles.

Nobody corners the preacher though, and this ones got the race card, watch out.

What happens if you stood up and told the preacher that he is full of shit and why? Now you are a white man and it is a black congregation.