Anticipating the inauguration of President Barack Obama, Twin Cities photographer Alec Soth compiled a series of photos entitled, “The Last Days of W.” Taking its title from a poem by Lester B. Morrison, the series (and book) offers a poetic look at the country George W. Bush leaves behind. Shot in Minnesota and across the United States, the works represent “a panoramic look at a country exhausted by its catastrophic leadership.”

“In assembling this collection of pictures I’ve made over the last eight years, I guess I’m not really trying to accomplish much at all. But as President Bush once said, ‘One of the great things about books is, sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.’”

Priscilla, Los Angeles, California

RNC, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Whether dawn or dusk,
Don Knotts or the deputy,
There is nothing left but gas

You’ve exhausted

You’ve laughed your head off
Wrapped it in black burlap
And bounced on the branch
Till sticky with candy and mâché.

Now the ranch is quiet,
Brush cleared,
Fields burnt,
Almost bored.

These are the last days of W.

—Lester B. Morrison

Osama, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Related: Alec Soth on photographing the Minnesota Senate recount
And: Imagining Bush: Artists on the official presidential portraits

Making the cover of TIME wasn’t the peak of Shepard Fairey’s successes this election season: his iconic Obama poster was purchased by the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery for an undisclosed sum, and a reworking of the red, white and blue classic is being given away to donors to the historic inauguration. But for those of us who don’t have Fairey’s vision or twenty bucks to spare, there’s Obamiconme.com, a site by Paste magazine that lets users make their own Obamicized versions. We tried out Al Franken and Norm Coleman (swap headers depending on your political preference or predictions of the Senate race outcome) and, after the jump, a bit of advice for Rep. Michele Bachmann next time she’s on “Hardball” paired with her Sixth Congressional District challenger: THINK and TINK.

Want to submit your version for possible publication? Email me at pschmelzer [at] minnesotaindependent [dot] com.

Photo: Aaron Landry, Flickr

For 35 years, Intermedia Arts has focused on working to “build understanding among people through art,” cosponsoring everything from the B-Girl Be festival of women in hip-hop and exhibitions by artists in its Lyndale Avenue neighborhood to the annual Art Car Parade and last year’s series of creative responses to the Republican National Convention called The UnConvention. Its building, covered by an ever-changing mural that mixed realistic, abstract and graffiti-style paintings, telegraphed its dextrous, community-oriented mission. But according to its website, Intermedia has been hit especially hard by the economic downturn: next month, it’s laying off all full-time staff and closing its gallery.

“It’s huge. It’s fast. It’s dramatic,” reads a message on the group’s web site. “But we—our staff, our board, our artists, partners, and funders—all of us, are absolutely committed to ensuring the future of Intermedia Arts.”

While the organization has survived largely on philanthropic giving from individuals and foundations, it’s now turning to its community to seek help in securing its future. It’s seeking input and moral support at the Intermedia Arts’ Community Townhall: Rally the People! at 5:30 pm on Friday, December 19th, and it’s looking for donations.

The news highlights how the troubled economy has proven disastrous for arts organizations, which rely both on philanthropy and the entertainment dollars of supporters who are likewise doing belt-tightening of their own. Last month, the Minnesota Museum of American Art in St. Paul, long struggling with budget deficits, announced it’d be closing temporarily. And last summer, Theater de la Jeune Lune, sinking more than a million dollars in debt, closed its space in Minneapolis’ warehouse district as did the northeast Minneapolis gem, the Minnesota Center for Photography.

Photo: Aaron Landry

With half of my Twitter friends in the political sphere and the other half involved with art, watching my feed during last night’s debate yielded an entertaining mash-up of both. One, from Washington, D.C.–based art journalist Tyler Green, referenced a contemporary art darling (who happens to be Mr. Björk): “It occurs to me that Matthew Barney was on the vanguard of incoherence as a strategy. Palin’s just following in his footsteps.”

So in the spirit of absurdity and art, a less-than-political rundown of assessments on the proceedings.

Situationists for Sarah! A group of protesters outside Washington University in St. Louis last night embraced the surreal nature of the event, which pitted a woman heralded for hauling kids to soccer and moose-hunting against a foreign-policy veteran who introduced many Americans to the word “Bosniak.” One held a Magritte-esque sign that read, “This is a sign.” Another’s countered, “This is an owl.” Artblogger Greg Allen comments: “What does it say about the election mediascape that a dadaist poster stunt could just as easily be a dog whistle for some invisible target demographic as a marketing tool for goldenpalace.com? Though there’s not a URL to be seen.”

[Photos by Brett Marty, FiveThirtyEight.com.]

The Accidental Comic: Alaska resident David Noon’s MnIndy commentary on Palin’s performance has generated some great comments, including one attributed to the band Falco (whose song “Rock Me Amadeus” Noon mentioned) and another, linked in a TPM post called “The Accidental Comic,” which focuses on Noon’s reference to “The Macarena”:

You do not understand how people (including myself) are drawn to Sarah Palin. Joe Biden did great last night because he lied at every turn. He is a talented truth destroyer. Take the Biden lies out of the debate and Palin was the obvious victor. Just like “The Macarena”, Sarah Palin will be involved in our culture for many years. And, in case you have not noticed Mr. Noon, many people rush to the dance floor when that annoying song comes on.

Wink and a nod: Gothamist points out Palin’s propensity for winking — which may fall under the directive “Do something cute” on the “Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart” (below) — noting that Biden’s been known “to use his eye suggestively.” The New York blog also links up Newsweek’s tale of two debates: “In one ring we watched Sarah Palin battling Tina Fey’s impression of Sarah Palin. In the other we saw Joe Biden battling John McCain.”

Culinary Art: Not really about the debate, but what’s more absurd than a non sequitur mention of cheese steak? Here’s what chef Andrew Zimmern had to say about Palin:

“I saw that Sarah Palin was in Philly and stopped in for a cheese steak at Tony Lukes. C’mon, now. How can you trust this woman to be the VEEP if she can’t even get to a top-ten sandwich joint in the City of Brotherly Love? …I can handle the fact that she believes that dinosaurs and humans walked the earth together 4,000 years ago (LA Times). I can even forgive her for not being able to name a single news source that she regularly peruses or for not being able to name a single Supreme Court case other than Roe v. Wade (NYT, CBS et al.), but I CANNOT forgive her for wasting a meal on the road.”

Conceptual Art: And, rounding it out, some conceptual art — a visualization of keywords and concepts the VP candidates used, via GraphicDesignr’s Erica Smith. First Biden:

Then Palin:

Photo by Simon Hare Photography

As a part of the UnConvention, a sideshow to the Republican National Convention, next week Miami artist Steven Gagnon will drive his sculptural contraption to the Twin Cities and park it in a public spot near Intermedia Arts, a sponsor of the festivities. Gagnon’s “border cruiser” calls attention to the experience of undocumented people in the U.S. (This week, it will be on view curbside in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. See video below.)

The unconventional project is part of a “series of non-partisan citywide programs around the theme of participatory democracy through art, education and journalism,” geared around the political conventions. The vehicle is just one of many politically minded exhibitions and events that also includes other remade forms of transportation. (Go here for a full schedule of events.)

Once a detective’s car, the cruiser, an all-white Ford Crown Victoria, retains its former glory with a black wraparound stripe and tongue-in-cheek markings that read, “To project and present” and “projection vehicle.” However, the real spectacle comes from inside the multimedia car/installation: It is furnished with several digital projectors that play video footage, providing the kinds of details you won’t find in an incident report.

From the back seat, a Brazilian man’s image flashes life-size across the rear windows, while his narration comes through the roof-mounted speakers — fixtures that bear a striking resemblance to sirens and lights. The immigrant, who has been taken into custody, tells the story of what brought him to the U.S. and the difficulties he has faced since then. (Cool back-story: Gagnon bought the car from a Brazilian woman whose work permit had expired.)

One of the biggest challenges of the project, Gagnon says, was to pull it off legally — avoiding any kind of official police car branding. Even so, the traffic-stopping installation isn’t immune to scrutiny. When taking pictures of the finished product, Gagnon was questioned by police who responded to 911 calls about a fake police car. The cops then stayed close for the remainder of the photo shoot, so as to prevent additional calls. On the other hand, “it gives you a sense of authority even though you have none,” he chuckled, noting that fellow drivers always stick to the speed limit around him.

Gagnon, who comes from a long line of auto mechanics, similarly revamped a New York City taxicab into a mini theater. In “Eins Werden,” which combines equal parts West German-manufactured Mercedes Benz and East German Trabant, he portrays the reunification of Germany, while another piece uses a 1930s Ford to describe his origins. “A lot of my work has dealt with who and what is an American? Who am I as an American?” said Gagnon, who comes from an immigrant family. “I want to raise awareness and provide more dignity to these people who many perceive as second-class citizens. This is a way I can give a different perspective.”

With another convention in the wings, I contacted the artists to see if they had any updates to their self-published book, GOP 100: Deconstructing Dumbo. While they said the book is still fresh four years later and doesn’t necessarily need updating, they had one: a retitled piece showing an elephant in prison stripes (reminiscent of this year’s convention logo). It’s now called “Larry Craig.” But Sockwell, who has created illustrations for clients from the New York Times and Apple to Newsweek and the U.S. Holocaust Museum, agreed to share some illustrations from the book here, along with each work’s title. And next week, he’ll give MnIndy an exclusive illustration that traces the evolution of the Democratic donkey and Republican elephant logos.

As a stark counterpoint to the “scripted democracy” of this fall’s GOP nominating convention, a project by mnartists.org, the Walker Art Center and the UnConvention is inviting people of all political stripes and artistic abilities to create yard signs to coincide with the RNC — and, fittingly, the 50 designs getting the most online votes will be produced and distributed around the Twin Cities and near the convention site.

Visitors to the My Yard, Our Message site can submit designs by June 30; then open voting will be held from July 1-27.

Don’t want to leave the fate of your design in the hands of we, the people? For $20 bucks, the project will produce and deliver a one-off of your design. 

Featured: “Ugly Partisanship” by Emmet Byrne; “Convention” by Andy Pressman; “Groove” by Emmet Byrne; “Now or Never” by David Barawski

Got a tip? Email us examples of creative response to the convention for inclusion in future editions of RNC DIY!

According to The UnConvention, a collaborative project by arts groups like Intermedia and the Walker Art Center, the piece is “a testimonial to the impact eight years of extreme judicial, legislative, and executive actions have had on American democratic institutions — from the landmark Supreme Court decision ‘Bush v. Gore’ in 2000 to presidential signing statements to illegal FISA surveillance.” The work will also be “performed” at the DNC in Denver.

This is the first installment of RNC DIY!, a look at creative responses to the Republican convention.