Make Your Own Obamicon
EmailThe editors of Paste magazine have created a website — Obamicon.me — where you can plug in your own photos to make your own Shepard Fairey-esque iconic poster. So far thousands of people have done it. Mostly they seem to be Obama supporters joining in the fun or earnestness, but others have kicked in with everything ranging from political statements about the recent drone attacks on Pakistan and the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to jokes at the expense of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to references to cult films The Big Lebowski and Better Off Dead. Entries are rated and commented upon on the site, and you can even order goods with the images upon them. Here’s mine:
It’s President Obama’s nominee to be deputy Defense Secretary, former Raytheon lobbyist William Lynn. -jpt
Sen. DeMint: GOP Race Could Go Until Convention 
Obama Avoids Questions on Contraception Rule
Ha!
Posted by: MayBee | January 24, 2009, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
Jake, you better watch your back. The Obamanati do not like their deity being defaced.
Posted by: James | January 24, 2009, 2:31 pm 2:31 pm
Mine would be Obama in the background with a McDonald’s arch over his face. The caption would read “millions and millions misserved”.
Posted by: Nikki | January 24, 2009, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm
::grin::
Posted by: Sue | January 24, 2009, 2:37 pm 2:37 pm
It’s good to see “Soviet realist” art that Obama “iconism” drew upon be used for mockery instead of propaganda….Too bad the Russians who originally came under its thrall never had that chance.
Posted by: robert b | January 24, 2009, 2:39 pm 2:39 pm
Who knew? Jake may be one of the first in the media to break free of the Obama spell.
Hehehehehehe -good stuff
Posted by: Ted | January 24, 2009, 2:40 pm 2:40 pm
i hope Fairey is getting copywright for using his imagage.
Posted by: Paul Wall | January 24, 2009, 3:00 pm 3:00 pm
Better watch out, Jake, that ‘fire’ at the door of the press room yesterday could have been aimed at you.
Seriously, thanks for not drinking the kool-aid and doing your job. I appreciated your efforts to be fair and objective during the campaign, and I appreciate your willingness to ask some tough (but fair) questions of the new administration.
Posted by: red | January 24, 2009, 3:40 pm 3:40 pm
Mr Wit Tapper, congratulations and welcome to the year 2009 when a reporter FINALLY gets to criticize somebody in government. Special welcome to this new era when you can actually criticize the administration for hiring lobbyists. Isn’t change a beautiful thing?
Posted by: Question | January 24, 2009, 4:29 pm 4:29 pm
Apologies for a horrible mistake I made in my earlier post. ‘Lobbyist’ not ‘lobbyists’. Thank you.
Posted by: Question | January 24, 2009, 4:31 pm 4:31 pm
I’m reading a lot of pettiness from the comments here and a lack of understanding about art. Sad.
Posted by: kathy | January 24, 2009, 5:05 pm 5:05 pm
Seems to be that Gates asked for the man president Obama nominated and he is a republican ,so president went along with the loyal opposition in this case
Posted by: jojobo1 | January 24, 2009, 5:14 pm 5:14 pm
hahaha… rofl good one tapper. so freakin’ funny. anyhoo. why don’t you have your own sunday show? there’s a big void out there since meet the press became nonexistant. i could see you probing politicians in a tough, but fair way.
Posted by: Lupercal | January 24, 2009, 6:05 pm 6:05 pm
“Seems to be that Gates asked for the man president Obama nominated and he is a republican ,so president went along with the loyal opposition in this case”
Yes, President Obama went out of his way to get Gates (a Republican holdover) his man(Lynn)as requested. And Obama did this despite knowing he would draw heat . ..
Posted by: pefros | January 24, 2009, 7:45 pm 7:45 pm
“why don’t you have your own sunday show? there’s a big void out there since meet the press became nonexistant.”
I agree, the media has become a cesspool of Democratic party advocacy. There is simply no one out there with the stature of Tim Russert. There is no one out there that can get past their support of Democrats and their opposition to Republicans. Tim proved that if you can set aside your bias you will be admired and draw an audience. Tim was clearly a liberal but he was tough on both sides and he will be missed for that integrity.
How about it Jake? Are you willing to fill the shoes that Tim left with his all too soon departure? I would hope at least on person in the media would look at Tim’s success and try to emulate the integrity and toughness that brought that success.
Posted by: James | January 24, 2009, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm
Not art originally but propaganda,
However now in the hands of the people, it does become a thing of beauty, , an expression of freedom, to make fun, to puncture big egos
Surely you can see that.
Posted by: robert b | January 24, 2009, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm
Bravo! Funny stuff, Jake. Turnabout is fair play.
Posted by: Alinskey | January 24, 2009, 8:49 pm 8:49 pm
Interesting you would chose to use Lynn as your subject.
I find it interesting President Obama stuck his neck out for Defense Secretary Gates – the Republican Bush appointee – and backed Gates’ selection for Deputy.
“I asked that an exception be made because I felt that he (Lynn) could play the role of a deputy in a better manner than anybody else that I saw,” Gates said.
So, Obama stuck his neck out for Gates – the Bush appointee – even though he knew he would draw a lot of political heat for doing so.
It may turn out he has to reverse his decision, but he was willing to take the heat to support Gates’ choice.
I can only guess Obama felt national defense (and Gate’s recommendation) was important enough to stick his head out and take the heat. That’s a guess.
Posted by: pefros | January 24, 2009, 9:19 pm 9:19 pm
“Not art originally but propaganda”
*************************
Oh, really? So Time magazine authorized a Soviet style portrait of their person of the year in 2008. Then those other lefty elitists at the National Portrait Gallery had the audacity to hang it in their presidential gallery. I see, they just refused to listen to the wisdom of Rush Limbaugh and acknowledge the concern of erstwhile bloggers.
****************************
“However now in the hands of the people, it does become a thing of beauty, , an expression of freedom, to make fun, to puncture big egos”
That’s not a description of art, but of some form of juvenile anger seeking expression.
Posted by: kathy | January 25, 2009, 12:33 am 12:33 am
Gosh, let’s see – Mr. Fairey calls his website “ObeyGiant” which references his humorous origins with Andre the Giant stickers littering the streets and buses.
His banner blasts “Propaganda Engineering” while also listing “manufacturing quality dissent”
Which is it? Well really in the past year and 1/2 in service to candidate in a mainstream party winning a presidency – Propaganda. And now in the service of the President of the US – definitely propaganda.
So now in the hands of the people it is no longer controlled and can be used for many things.
Lighten up and let the change happen.
Posted by: robert b | January 25, 2009, 12:59 am 12:59 am
As the art21 blog site puts in – is it reification – supporting the state, or is it “radical chic”. Cant be revolutionary any more if we are the change and we is the govt?
Posted by: robert b | January 25, 2009, 1:03 am 1:03 am
Jake your Obamicon is good.
But should have the words printed on it “”Hypocritical liar”".
Posted by: june bug | January 25, 2009, 7:02 am 7:02 am
Speaking of art and propaganda, there was a problem with a Bush portrait in the National Gallery, around the same time the Obama one was placed there. The labeling that went with the Bush picture linked 9/11 to the Iraq War. After the inaccuracy was pointed out, the reference was removed. For those perceiving propaganda with the Obama portrait, I’d recommend that you express your concerns to a representative or the gallery.
Posted by: kathy | January 25, 2009, 10:57 am 10:57 am
Nice Job Jake, It’s good to see a reporter actually reporting and showing hypocrisy where it exists instead of bowing at Obama’s feet.
Posted by: robtr | January 25, 2009, 2:07 pm 2:07 pm
I suppose , Kathy, that you think Bush shoe toss at an gallery is art, though.
Posted by: robert b | January 25, 2009, 8:40 pm 8:40 pm
No, Robert , a Bush shoe toss isn’t art by my standards. But perhaps by yours, it is:
“However now in the hands of the people, it does become a thing of beauty, , an expression of freedom, to make fun, to puncture big egos
Surely you can see that.”
Posted by: kathy | January 26, 2009, 9:27 am 9:27 am
Its looks like they are cool pics..
Posted by: Hectic Capiznon bloggers 2009 | February 17, 2009, 5:40 am 5:40 am