Wheatpasting Politics: Posters of Obama as The Joker

Hundreds of mysterious posters are being wheat-pasted up across the US in a puzzling turn in the street art scene that has been co-opted by radio/internet personality Alex Jones. The poster depicts President Obama in Heath Ledger-style Joker makeup along with the words “socialism,” "new world order," or "fascism" at the bottom. Jones, the notorious libertarian broadcaster who alleges a new world order conspiracy, is offering a prize of $1,000 to any fan who uploads "the most effective video" of themselves posting the art on public property.The “poster offensive” aims to “awaken the people about Obama’s agenda.”

Although most sources claim the poster’s origin is a mystery, Bedlam magazine links to Firas Khateeb’s Flickr account where the image is seen as part of a photoshopped Time Magazine cover. The supposed original was posted on Flickr on January 18th, 2009 and the first caption read “not indicative of my political views.” Khateeb88 notes “I’m really surprised at how this image has been taken and reproduced and the media coverage it’s getting. I’m even more surprised so many outlets (CNN, Fox News) haven’t figured out who the ‘mystery artist’ is. All you need to do is a quick Google image search on ‘Obama Joker’ and you find the original!”

Equally perplexing is the fact that street art and wheatpasting have been adopted by a radio host who has gone so far as to broadcast an entire show in Joker makeup. Despite Jones’s adoption of the image, the statement behind the posters is still open to interpretation. There is criticism of the portrayal of Obama in whiteface or clown white, and of the connotation of violence in the bloody mouth and black eyes. Also there is the fact that The Joker revels in chaos and is more akin to an anarchist than a central planner. But Infowars blogger Kurt Nimmo explains the poster's intended message is that the Commander in Chief is "the current and transitional face of this high-tech murder and economic violence machine." He goes on to say that "Obama is not necessarily a psychopath . . . but by the standards of his office he is a master criminal, or rather a frontman for a cartel of master criminals." Regardless of the origin or meaning, it’s interesting to see how street art can clash or coalesce with varying political messages.

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