(Photo: Courtesy of Jim Joe)
Hot on the heels of a Fader piece about “How Artists Have Helped Sustain Bernie Sanders’ Run To The White House”, another NYC-based creative type is #feelingthebern. Street artist Jim Joe, known for his rather Dada-esque scrawlings on street corners, billboards, and everyday objects, has joined the ranks of Sandernistas with a poster that may or may not become the Shepard Fairey’s “Hope” of this election season. (Take that, cardboard Hillary!) In it, the words “Human Being” are scrawled across the face of Bernie, who’s looking every bit the presidential hopeful as he longingly stares into the distance.
If you’ve seen street artist Flood’s Bill Cosby series—colorful images of iconic Fat Albert cartoon characters that, in an ironic twist, comment on the comedian’s rape scandal—you might be tempted to think they were flippant, sarcastic pieces by a smartass looking to stir up controversy. You’d be wrong: using the characters as mouthpieces for such an ugly topic was one of the hardest things the artist has ever done, and he continues his work despite being arrested earlier this year.
