The artist whose political portraits break the internet is working on a new piece
A former White House press secretary dancing the salsa to “Spice Up Your Life” on a reality show is now a thing that has happened in American history.
In this week’s issue, we’ll preview a piece of political art that could break the internet and look at the one thing former House Speaker Boehner wanted changed in his portrait painted by former President Bush. I also published a street art guide for lower Manhattan and the High Line.
Yours,
Trump would like Congress to investigate… Obama’s Netflix and book deals?
President Trump — who is currently facing at least 29 investigations, 14 of which are related to his businesses, per the New York Times — would like lawmakers to stop looking into “all of the deals that ‘Trump’ has done over his lifetime.” Trump tweeted Monday that instead, he’d like Congress to investigate other things including former President Obama’s book and Netflix deals, without offering an explanation why.
One reason Trump might not be keen on the former president’s Netflix programming is Obama’s first show. “American Factory,” released last month through the Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, is a documentary created by filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert that follows a Chinese company that reopens a shuttered factory outside Dayton, Ohio. The access the filmmakers got is incredible, and though it’s not partisan, it does show that Trump’s promise to bring back industrial jobs is easier said than done.
“American Factory” is a look at globalization and the future of work, but also the new standard for post-presidencies (surely if Obama’s doing Netflix shows, Trump will do Trump TV, no?). I thought the most interesting parts of the doc were hearing what Chinese workers and management had to say about American culture and work ethic behind the American employees’ backs. 🏭
How 2020 Democrats could rewrite the rules of political typography
ICYMI, I published a deep dive on the typography of some of the Democratic campaigns and how they could change political design trends. Read my story here.
Side note: Hello to everyone who found out about Yello through that article! Happy to have you and if you know anyone else interested in the culture, branding, and visual rhetoric of politics, you can forward them this newsletter. I loved seeing how many people geek out about politics and design the way I do. Welcome! 🔠
The artist whose political portraits break the internet is working on a new piece
Jason Heuser is the artist behind wildly popular but often uncredited illustrations of presidents that seem engineered for internet vitality, like George W. Bush skydiving on a shark and Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor. He’s now working on a piece of businessman and presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Heuser previewed the above shot of “Iron Yang” on his private Instagram account.
“I’ve been hearing a lot more about [Yang] lately he also seems like he’s the kinda guy who’d appreciate it,” he told Yello.
Though Heuser usually sticks to presidents over presidential candidates, he told me in February he planned to illustrate the 2020 Democratic primary. He already did a “Cybernie 2020” illustration of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). 🤖
Boehner wasn’t happy with the initial portrait W. painted of him
When former House Speaker John Boehner played a game of “who’s the most famous person in your phone” with a Barstool Sports podcast recently, he answered by saying it was former President Bush and showing off the portrait Bush made of him. While the painting isn’t new (it appeared in a 2017 Politico profile of Boehner), Boehner told Barstool that he wasn’t happy with Bush’s first attempt because of the hair.
Barstool host Kate Mannion tweeted that after Bush texted Boehner a photo of the finished painting showing him with white hair, “Boehner texted back something along the lines of ‘what the s—t?!’ And so a few hours later W sent this updated salt n pepper version.” 🎨
The artist behind Hillary’s email exhibition: “It completed the circle”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spent an hour last week perusing the 62,000 pages of her printed emails that were part of the “HILLARY: The Hillary Clinton Emails” exhibit by conceptual artist Kenneth Goldsmith at the Venice Biennale in Italy, Goldsmith tweeted.
Goldsmith told ARTnews Clinton was in Italy with high school friends and one suggested she visit the exhibit, which includes a replica of the Resolute Desk.
“It’s amazing—it completed the circle, in a way,” he said. “It has her almost become an actor within my tableau.”
Goldsmith, who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania and was named the Museum of Modern Art’s first Poet Laureate in 2013, said he wanted to print Clinton’s emails as soon as he heard about them.
“There was a lot of noise being made about something that you couldn’t really see, which made me want to realize them in a physical form,” he said. “It’s a way of sort of reconciling Trump’s sense of this information with reality. Sculpture does this really well. There’s no more misinformation once you materialize something.”
If you can’t make it to Venice before the exhibition ends on November 24, you can purchase a 400-page book of emails. 📧
Nike’s Colin Kaepernick ad won an Emmy
Nike’s “Dream Crazy,” which was narrated by Kaep, won Outstanding Commercial at the Creative Arts Emmys. The agency behind the spot was Wieden+Kennedy, and it was Nike’s first win since 2002, per CNBC.
The ad beat out Apple’s “Don’t mess with Mother,” and “Behind the Mac — Make Something Wonderful,” Netflix @StrongBlackLead’s “A Great Day in Hollywood,” and Sandy Hook Promise’s arresting “Point of View.” 🏆
Spicer bombed in his inaugural “Dancing With the Stars” performance
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s performance last night didn’t impress the judges, who gave him three fours, but he attempted to drum up support by characterizing the competition as a culture wars battle between *checks notes* Hollywood and Christians. “Let’s send a message to #Hollywood that those of us who stand for #Christ won’t be discounted,” Spicer tweeted. The tweet has since been deleted. 🕺
Yello Street Art Guide: Lower Manhattan and the High Line
For paid subscribers: I hit up political street art spots in Manhattan this weekend, including a new mural by one of my favorite street artists, Conor Harrington, and the murals Tiffany Trump posed in front of this summer for her Insta. Read my guide here.
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