Hope is Gone

I will preface this post by admitting honestly that some of this man's work was well done and interesting. He has a nice technique with most things and above all, he knows how to keep his name on the hit list. That being said, Shepard Fairey is a raging poser. He's a hack who uses the fickle liberal mob mentality to feather his nest and fuel his larger-than-life ego. His latest offering shows us that not only is he a shameless opportunist (something his audience should shun) but he's run out of ideas.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is no stranger to slogans and provocative imagery. Their crass posters, oftentimes confusing and nonsensical, are inescapable. They've adopted the Guy Fawkes mask from "V for Vendetta" as their stand against 'oppression' and trot it out as often as possible. Shepard Fairy saw an opening and he took it with this boring and predictable recycle of his insipid Obama 'Hope' poster.

This 'humble' street artist (as he continues to be called though he's no longer either) had done a different poster for OWS, something a little less forward, less recognizable. I suppose that's why the new one came about; the first one didn't get enough attention. In this article, he's called a 'west coast legend' and let's face it, a man with a head that big wasn't about to let the cash-cow and hero worship of OWS pass him by.

As I said before, he's not completely devoid of talent, but as a graphic artist myself, I know what goes into the things he does. I know what kind of work is involved and I know how easy it is to recycle. When the first poster (something predictable but not awful) didn't get the buzz he wanted, he opened an old file he had floating around on his expensive computer and did some editing. He kept the colors and the technique, just changed out a few things and added some words. He even kept the Obama 'O' in much the same fashion, just added some hackneyed 99% mumbo-jumbo. This Guy Fawkes incarnation of his easily and oft-imitated red and blue poster wasn't much work for him at all and yet the adoring art community and OWS roll out their tongues for him like a red carpet.

It's easy to think the road to artistic success lies on the open range of propaganda. Propaganda is a frightening mistress. The communists and socialists use art as a cog in the machine of oppression so it's not surprise Mr. Fairey seems eager to let himself be exploited. This piece from Big Hollywood in 2009 about former NEA Director of Communications Yosi Sergant sheds a light on just how far this administration and its champions are willing to go to get what they want. When you can't sway the people with facts and mere words, use an eye-catching image and slogan.

It's no sin to express your beliefs in any form at your disposal. It's fine to share those beliefs with others. But there's a fine line between expression and exploitation. Mr. Fairey isn't a victim and I would guess his desire for fame and fortune slightly outweighs his need to 'speak for the common man'. This latest move shows desperation. He, like many adamant Obama supporters, have seen their star brighten and fizzle. This revisit of his Hope poster is a return to a time of prosperity for him, a time when he was a hero. Fairey is a well-known 'art vigilante' and I suppose he always will be in some circles, but the 15 minutes of fame may be over and not a moment too soon.

Peace, Love, Selfishness

This is the time of hipster discontent. They've gone to college, gotten an obscure degree, accrued a mountain of debt, can't find their dream job, and they're happiness is your responsibility. Didn't you know, if you are a responsible person, you're on the line to make everyone else happy? Occupy Wall Street seems to have no coherent message, but the one thing they all seem to believe is their failures in life are the fault of someone else. They have a hate-on for those who have made something of themselves. Plain and simple, they're jealous.

This movement is less about 'fairness' in business and more about the bruised feelings of generations of Americans who feel the world revolves around them. It must be quite a shock to wake up and realize the sun rises and sets on lots of people, not just yourself. OWS can be blamed on decades of selfishness and thinly veiled egotism hidden behind equality jargon. The caring, hard-working attitude that made America so exceptional is now pushed behind a tidal wave of "me, me, me!"

Being successful isn't easy. One of the keys to being a self-obsessed jerk is believing hard work is for suckers. Why run the race yourself when you can ride on someone's back? This is why systems like socialism fail, the workhorses get tired of working for everyone but themselves. No amount of sitting in a urine-stained park, spewing anti-capitalist hate, and using 'twinkle' fingers can change the fact that to get rewarded you have to first put fourth an effort. That's how the world works.

The other reason their effort will fail is when you place all your hopes on the backs of legislation and regulation, you give up any kind of control over your own life. To regulate business the way they want, to force companies to abide by their demands, would be to relinquish any promise of future successes. Capitalism is a vital link in the chain of our culture and economy. If that link is weakened or compromised, the rest of the chain is compromised. This is something the protesters don't seem to understand. It's tough to see the implications of your decisions when you believe all your ideas are perfect and you're above fault.

Our country needs to be healed, but not with a vegan smoothie and a drum circle. We need the solace of hard work and great achievement. We need the strength of knowing we've done something epic with our lives. As I've written before, we need to return to the exceptionalism that made us great. Whimpering on the street, being violently selfish; that's not exceptional. Exceptionalism isn't a costume you can wear, it isn't the size of your bank account (no matter how the riches are gained), exceptionalism is the strength of your spirit and the integrity of your soul. OWS needs to understand their future is in their own hands. If they want to be successful, it's up to them. They need to put down the signs and start at the start. That's the only sure-fire way of running a winning race.