Nonsense, Campaign Posters, and Propaganda

If your interested in the art of the political poster, then Presidential campaigns are good places to look since at least 80 percent of their effort is pure propaganda. Ten percent is utter nonsense. The rest, perhaps a smattering of truth.

People tend to forget that Eldridge Cleaver, the Minister of Information for the Black Panthers, also ran for President. On the Peace and Freedom Party ticket. He didn't fare that well; he wasn't even 35 at the time of the election. The constitution is rather vague on when you need to come of age in order to be President. While campaigning? before the swearing-in ceremony?; at any point during the 4 year term? Only the all-seeing Founding Fathers knew.

You can see a poster from the Cleaver run, along with a number of other posters from US Presidential campaigns at the Kansas City, Missouri Central Library through October 2nd. Some of my favorites are a Ben Shahn silkscreen with a less-than flattering Barry Goldwater caricature, a 1972 Nixon (re-election) where he co-opted (read stole) some of R. Crumb's characters (a portend of things to come?). And a Wendell Willkie 3-color silkscreen from his unsuccessful 1940 bid for the Oval Office.