From the dreamy and beautiful "O" of the Obama campaign, to the disastrous green background that continues to plague Mccain, the visuals of this presidential election have been incredibly stark in contrast. Sometimes purposefully and sometimes completely by accident. I'd encourage you all to visit the visual blog BAG NEWS NOTES for some truly scholarly (and inevitably a bit leftist) analysis of the images brought into our concious and sub conscious through the media. I'd also like to throw a tip of the hat to one of my favorite political photographers Richard Avedon, who passed away nearly four years ago, but who's portrait of a newly arrived political star named Barack Obama, is the consummate portrait of youthful ideals and hope in a politician.
What I find astounding about Avedon's work is how politically biased it is, and yet how even "mistreated" subjects returned to his studio. The vague, even lost look on Reagan, which became even more telling after his affliction was made public. The Melting Bush the Elder, the Yes-Man Rumsfeld, and the saintly Carter. Simon Schama wrote on the subject in far greater detail, but I suggest you read his guardian article if the art holds you as it does me.
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