Of all the disgusting themes in this political season the most repulsive is
the widely talked about but underground theme of the assassination of
Barack Obama. How many times have you heard some sallow sage say that
"Obama will be assassinated," just like -take your pick- J.F.K. or Bobby
or Martin Luther King Jr?
The particular iteration of the assassination theme that I have in mind is
an installation by Yazmany Arboleda at the Naomi Gates Gallery in the
Chelsea neighborhood of New York. Its title is simple and direct, "The
Assassination of Barack Obama." And the verbal discourse is paranoid and hysterical.
The installation explores the figurative, but highly effective attempts by the American populace to assassinate Barack Obama’s reputation during his historic candidacy for president. Reflecting the sentiment that no one is without blame or responsibility, Arboleda shows the extreme effects of a society intent on castrating anyone in power. The rest of the verbiage is more or less the same.
And then comes the "art." A few posters, photographs, GAP and Budweiser
logos, an image of Bobby Kennedy haunting Obama, nine nooses and an
enormous black penis stretched over three of four large walls. Speaking of
stereotypes. Just move from scene to scene by clicking "view."