Back in 2013, Espionart showcased the work of American illustrator Shepard Fairey, exploring his debt to the aesthetics of the Cold War. Fairey’s 2008 ‘Hope’ poster, bearing the image of Barack Obama, has become perhaps the most iconic political illustration of the 21st century. Since then, the poster has been widely imitated and parodied by both Fairey and his admirers, to support causes such as … Continue reading We the People
Appropriately for a building that still bears the name of a country that no longer exists, carved in stone above the entrance, the Serbian Pavilion (formerly that of Yugoslavia) at the 2015 Venice Biennale hosts a powerful comment on the fluidity and vulnerability of nationhood. Artist Ivan Grubanov collected the flags of countries that have ceased to exist to create United Dead Nations. In the … Continue reading Venice Biennale Highlight #4: United Dead Nations
The Iran-Contra Affair – also known as ‘Irangate’ – was perhaps the worst moment of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. In November 1986 it was first revealed that senior officials of Reagan’s administration had been secretly facilitating the sale of arms to Iran while the country was subject to an arms embargo. Using Israel as a middle-man to ship the weapons, the arrangement was intended to bring about the … Continue reading Photographing Presidential Untruths
Nancy Jachec. Politics and Painting at the Venice Biennale, 1948–64: Italy and the Idea of Europe. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2008. The 55th Venice Biennale closes later this month, bringing to an end another spectacular exposition of current trends in international contemporary art. The Biennale underwent a 6-year hiatus during World War II before resuming in 1948, just as the Cold War was starting to … Continue reading Recommended Read: Politics and Painting at the Venice Biennale
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