B E B E R E

There are at least a couple of this guy's works around my neighborhood - this one around the corner from me and another nearer to Union Square. Am not much into this sort of stuff; it's a bit too hip (sanitized skate punk and situation-ism) and the artist seems like somewhat of an unsympathetic character.

First time I saw the masked 'freedom fighter,' was a fair bit put off. Took a good long look today and decided that this is actually pretty interesting. I like the aesthetic relating of the Muslim with a Marxist; she'd look really good on a tee shirt. Then there's the label "peace." Now, who am I going to believe here - whoever labeled this as such or my lying eyes? The not so subliminal message in the background feeds me the answer.

Pavel says that I'm overthinking this. Maybe I am, who knows? I do have to hand it to Fairey, though, for his making Marxism as palatable as Coca Cola for a great deal more than the usual campus true-believers here. For that, he's a marketing genius and probably deserves to be laughing all the way to the bank.