Politics

Culture Wars: Van Jones Explains How Obama & Progressives Occupied the Artistic ‘Heart Space’ …and Won

Van Jones discusses how Obama won the “heart space”:

Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign was historic on many levels, not least of which was based on the entire cult of personality built around him by artists working in a range of mediums from paint, to print, to music, to movies.

(Related: Everything Begins With an Idea: Beck Explains Why Americans Have the Power to ‘Create’)

While you might not recall a performer who goes by the unusual moniker, “Will.i.am,” you may recall his tribute to then-primary presidential contender Barack Obama through a music video entitled “Yes We Can.“ Originally intended to be a concession ”speech” at a time when Hillary Clinton was surpassing the community organizer in the polls, Will.i.am’s solemn hymn became a victory song for Obama, and embedded itself indelibly in the world of art and music.

In a panel discussion delivered by Van Jones at the University of Chicago in April (the same panel discussion in which he reconfirmed his goal to build a progressive economic movement), the former green jobs “czar” noted the type of ownership the left has commanded over nearly all things artistic. From Will.i.am’s ballad, to comedienne Tina Fey’s uncanny yet scathing embodiment of then vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, to Shepard Fairey successful revival of Soviet-style propaganda art in the now infamous Obama “Hope” poster, progressives have laid claim to what Jones calls “the heart space.”

Indeed, the arts played a measurable role in catapulting Obama to the Oval Office in 2008, and it is an oft-repeated fear among conservatives in the industry, that if their true politics were to be revealed, they would surely be ostracized. So the industry portrays itself as a monolith — one, homogenized progressive voice — that insinuates only “cool” liberals need apply. But what if there were a platform for artists who lean conservative, or Libertarian? How might they change the course of the 2012 election, and the entire “heart space” of politics?

In his panel discussion, Jones recalled the moment when Obama seemed to be a “one-hit wonder“ and his political career seemed ”over.”

“And he walks out there and he says, ‘yes we can,’” noted Jones.

“And an artist, Will.i.am, took his concession speech, his defeated speech, and through the power of art, made it into an anthem. That’s the power of art.”

Below is that anthem:

 

“Part of what was so magical about the 2008 campaign was that it wasn’t a political campaign,” continued Jones. “It was a spiritual revival disguised as a political campaign. The hope, the spiritual dimension of it, the cultural dimension of it, what Obama was representing.”

He likened Obama to a “shaman” and his speeches to the kind only delivered by a “slam poet” who is ”able to pull from the people a higher expression of who they were and give it back.” It was this ability, this “prowess” of Obama’s, according to Jones, that helped transform “what it meant to be an American” and proved that the cultural aspect of his campaign was far more powerful than any policy platform or prescription he could have ever delivered.

“And you also saw these other cultural pieces, the big, big, big rallies, were kind of like tent revivals.   Got more YouTube clicks than anything up till that time. Tina Fey, a comedienne, eviscerates Sarah Palin. You can‘t even think about Sarah Palin without thinking about ’Saturday Night Live.‘ That’s an a artist.”

Van Jones Talks About How the Arts and the

Below is that artist:

 

But while Will.i.am and Tina Fey’s artistic renditions reached a broad audience, there was perhaps no greater transformational moment than the release of Shepard Fairey’s “Hope O” poster, which, for Jones, became as ubiquitous  as the “Nike swoosh.” Indeed, no other president, or presidential contender in American history had become such a cult of personality — and he was made so by the artists who were beguiled by him.

Below are just some of Fairey’s works depicting Obama as a cultural icon:

Van Jones Talks About How the Arts and the

Van Jones Talks About How the Arts and the

Then, in the words of Joe Cocker, “with a little help from my friends,”  Obama was elected President of the United States. Jones recalled fondly that two days before the inauguration, devotees were rewarded with the “We Are One” concert, featuring Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and others who lauded the “great uniter” through music. And to jones, it was all “amazing art.”

Van Jones Talks About How the Arts and the

Bruce Springsteen Sings for Obama at "We Are One" Concert

Van Jones Talks About How the Arts and the

“And then inauguration, and then after that, nothing,” said Jones. “It’s just subcommittees, and sausage making, and public option, and cap-and-trade in the head space, but the heart space was missing.”

He added that had the Obama camp not allowed the poetic power so dominant in the culture war between left and right to slip away — had it not been relinquished for the “whims of the subcommittee of the subcommittee” — and had that artistic stronghold remained as influential while trying to govern as it was while trying to campaign, “we’d have had a very different outcome.”

So if progressive disciple Van Jones believes Obama has abandoned the “heart space,” does he believe the president will attempt to reclaim it during the 2012 election? Is there now an opportunity for conservatives, Libertarians and Independents to fill the void? Often, the cultural narrative has painted the left as champions of the disenfranchised, victors in the Civil Rights movement, upholders of human rights, and the stewards of charitable living and giving, yet the historical record dictates otherwise. Perhaps moderates and members and conservative-leaning Americans will now make greater strides in telling their story — and history — through the arts.

Tune into GBTV Thursday evening at 5:00 p.m. ET as Beck unveils the last component of his four part plan to reclaim America, “Create,” focused on meaningful artistic contribution.

Van Jones Talks About How the Arts and the

 

Van Jones Talks About How the Arts and the

Van Jones Talks About How the Arts and the

Comments (66)

1 2
  • Cabo King
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 1:49pm

    Van–put your hoodie on PLEASE!!!! Please

    Report Post » Cabo King  
    • lukerw
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 2:22pm

      Art is not of a Science nor Profession; Art is a Service… provided to a Benefactor… for a Monetary Reward… based upon Skill and Creativity!

      Report Post » lukerw  
  • Despiser25
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 12:57pm

    Dada Art has been around a lot longer than Obama and Van Jones.

    It’s easy to see when you know what youre looking at. The Jesus statue in the jar of urine showed me clearly and easily that the Arts had been hijacked by something sinister. What Modern Artists (all leftists) produce isn’t Art at all its politics veiled as Art.

    Report Post »  
    • gr8photoman
      Posted on June 10, 2012 at 1:10pm

      Absolutely 100% correct! I couldn’t agree more.

      Propaganda does not = art.

      Report Post » gr8photoman  
  • dawg71
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 12:52pm

    A spiritual rivival Van? Were back to the saviour of the world narrative? I find it amusing that Van thinks Obama did something new. The fact is its not, we americans had just been dumbed down enough in 2008 to let the propaganda that Obama peddled to actually work.

    Report Post »  
    • RLTW
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 2:05pm

      What Jones considers artistic space is nothing but propaganda, progressive (Communist) have been using it effectively for a very long time.

      Report Post »  
  • kickagrandma
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 12:21pm

    The name vanjones is synonymous with “bull****”, with apologies to the bulls.

    Report Post »  
  • Brother Winston Smith
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:35am

    Yeah. Van Jones is the leftist democrats version of leftist republican Glenn Beck! Instead of community organizing (for democrats), Will I Am and Hope and Change… it’s community organizing (for republicans), Ted Nugent and Restore Hope, Activate, Live, Return to Love… and all the other HEART SPACE GIBBERISH.

    GOD ALMIGHTY, DO WE NOT SEE THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!

    GLENN BECK IS VAN JONES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    VAN JONES IS GLENN BECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Report Post » Brother Winston Smith  
    • ICanComment
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 1:53pm

      @Brother…

      [Sighing]

      I contemplated whether or not to reply. I realize I’m not going to change your mind. This is for everyone else.

      Yeah, there’s a battle for your heart and your mind. This should come as no surprise.

      What it boils down to is that It’s wrong for someone to try to win your heart over to evil principles. It’s right for someone to try to win your heart on good principles. When in doubt, compare it to an unmoving point of reference, which I firmly believe is the Bible. If you don’t believe in the Bible, I respect you and I don’t hate you or anything like that, but then obviously this standard doesn’t apply.

      When this standard does not apply, then essentially good = evil = good = relativism, pluralism, humanism, whatever. It no longer matters, and basically all come down to whatever you feel is right in your own eyes. With no standard of right or wrong, Beck and Van Jones are equivalent, as is everything else, because the point of view depends on flawed human beings, myself included. That being said, Glenn Beck, by all appearances and by actual things he‘s said knows very well he’s not infallible. He tells you to weigh everything yourself against the Bible. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is not the message I hear from Van Jones. What’s his standard? Sure, he probably fully believes he’s doing the right thing, but based on what? “Common decency?” What’s the basis for it?

      Yes, God is almighty. You said it yourse

      Report Post »  
    • Brother Winston Smith
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 3:50pm

      @ICANCOMMENT

      As are my comments for everybody else. FAKE-conservatives do not acknowledge truth, but the readers may.

      GIBBERISH NOT APPLICABLE TO BECK DECEPTION:
      “It’s wrong for someone to try to win your heart over to evil principles. It’s right for someone to try to win your heart on good principles.”
      TRUTH:
      Beck “wins hearts,” using deceptive emotional tactics (not unlike Van Jones) for LEFTIST, UNCONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT. Nothing more. Beck style is DESIGNED for his target demographic of 25-45 females. This is why he cries. This is why his deception is based in emotion.

      MORE GIBBERISH:
      “With no standard of right or wrong, Beck and Van Jones are equivalent”
      TRUTH:
      There is a clear standard of right and wrong. It’s reflected in the Bible-steeped Constitution and Bill of Rights.
      WRONG:
      Van Jones MANIPULATES PEOPLE to vote LEFTIST democrat.
      WRONG:
      Glenn Beck MANIPULATES PEOPLE to vote LEFTIST republican.
      WRONG:
      Both use DECEPTION to do this.

      CORRECTING YOU BECAUSE YOU’RE WRONG:
      “Reverend Wright” bases his actions on the Bible. Is he… “right?”

      Report Post » Brother Winston Smith  
    • BOMUSTGO
      Posted on June 8, 2012 at 3:27am

      Brother Winston Smith…I like your screen name..You must be a fan of the book “1984.”

      Report Post » BOMUSTGO  
    • Leader1776
      Posted on June 8, 2012 at 9:34am

      @BROTHER
      Yes, you have either signed-on to the moral equivalency thing, or have attempted to become some kind of new-age philosopher. Fail at either.

      Your post isn’t worth the time to go point by point, but just read a bit more about the good Rev Wright and you will see your statement about him is meaningless. Or do you know his story and conveniently ignore that when making the statement?

      Report Post » Leader1776  
  • barber2
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:24am

    Methinks Van has confused “ heart space” with propaganda. Lap Dog Media. Goebbels very cleverly used this “ heart space” for Hitler. And Soros invested big time in this “ heart space” for election 2012 !

    Report Post »  
  • ShyMan
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:10am

    Artsy fartsy types should stay out of politics. Nothing turns me off from an entertainer faster than their political stances. I‘ll just assume they’re liberal and move on. No harm no foul.
    But when they start pimping themselves for a party or politician I can’t get past it. Everytime I see Springsteen my skin crawls. I can’t even enjoy his music. I know it’s weird. Same with McCartney.

    Report Post » ShyMan  
  • rickc34
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:07am

    Just like any cult they make a prromise the they do not deliever then they serve the kool aid. Obama llies about your opponent until the slow witted mass’s believe it is fact. Blame everyone else for your mistakes even if it has been over 3 years since he has been in office blame congress for the mess we are in even though it is his fault for not leading and just wanting to get everything his way. Spend money we do not have on things that do not work and make those who try to oppose you look mean and selfish.this is what Obama has been doing just like Satan divide and conquere. Obama is the true enemy. Kills without trial just like Stalin and Hitler did. Then just like those two try’s to look like a hero. Look at the old pictures and you will see the same pose and arrogance.

    Report Post »  
  • Coralchristie
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:04am

    Maybe this explains why Obama is making the Hollywood rounds repeatedly and continues to woo the artists. It seems that the artists are easily manipulated schmucks who are as narcissistic as Mr. Obama and who worship the idol of cult. It’s sad that most of these talented people are so short-cited that they don’t see that the failure of this democratic republic will actually and ultimately destroy them. They will be seen as the useful idiots of the socialists.

    Report Post »  
  • Jeff1000
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:04am

    Aren’t you Marxists just terrific. You took advantage of the American people while we were at our weakest, and you used our emotions and heart strings to punish us further and to enact to your corrupt, Muslim loving, communist agenda. I spit on all of you Marxists. You’re all despicable pieces of human waste, fecal matter.

    Report Post »  
  • GrayPanther
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:57am

    Conservatism in politics is relatively new. We grew out of necessity as we saw what was happening and began to think. There were the Hayek‘s and Adam Smith’s but as a political force effective political action came to us with Ronald Reagan. Now, this Communist – anti colonial hater of free enterprise and the U S Constitution has awakened the silent majority in America. That’s why the left is so active to run down the Tea Party movement. The left knows what a powerful force has awakened to the dangers to our freedoms; our future. Let’s support the movement as we did Governor Walker in Wisconsin! We can take back and drive forward our wonderful country.

    Report Post » GrayPanther  
  • Principlex
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:54am

    Feelings are important. Passion to pursue a purpose are feelings generated by the important value that one’s purpose intends to bring into existence. Feelings are instantaneous evaluations. Pursuing one’s purpose that one holds as of great importance, is to ride a deep wave of positive feelings and the energy that comes from that transferred into work. Powerful art accesses this energy. That is why it is important. The Individual Rights side of this great battle has to have art on its side to win. Art transfers abstract ideas into feelings. Ayn Rand knew the value of art in fighting for liberty and that is what her fiction writing is about.

    The visual art of the Left doesn’t really work. It doesn’t generate any strong feelings which the real power of art can cause. It may be nice, but is rather a lifeless reminder – Obama as a name – Hope as some letters of the alphabet. When the art of the left gets powerful, usually it is negative. Kumbaya is one thing but that is not the kind of art that causes people to move mountains. So, no matter what van Jones thinks, when artists start to really dig into expressing real and enduring values, the Left will wonder what hit them – rather like the power that has been shown over and over at certain points since Obama became President: The rise of the T-Party, Beck’s and maybe a million in Washington a couple years ago, Gingrich’s win the day after he stood up to the constant undermining of the liberal commentators,

    Report Post »  
  • Eric_The_Red_State
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:49am

    THE MAIN PROBLEM IS…… that we allow any jackwad at all to vote.
    We allow people who will vote for more free stuff
    We allow the Un-Informed
    We allow the people on welfare to vote for more welfare
    We allow the recently indoctinated 19 year old college student to vote

    And these people can be influenced by bad people. People with an alterior motive (Power)

    I SAY – we should ONLY allow people the right to vote IF
    - you have a job
    - you buy or rent property
    - you can speak English

    THAT way – you get the one’s who are PAYING THE TAXES to make the decisions.
    and you get the FREELOADERS out of the pockets of the TAXPAYERS

    Report Post » Eric_The_Red_State  
  • Sue Dohnim
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:36am

    Brainwashing through the culture,, the Marxist Frankfurt School aka Cultural Marxism

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkwgbQ_VarA

    While everyone was busy the Marxists stole the culture… the “mind”

    Report Post » Sue Dohnim  
    • Sue Dohnim
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:29am

      Frankfurt School
      http://frankfurtschool.us/history.htm

      Marx failed to unite the workers of the world in his Global Communist Utopia and Antonio Gramsci figured out why, Nationalism was more powerful, so he and and his legacy organization the Marxist intellectuals who formed the Frankfurt School applied marxist critical theory to culture.

      The Frankfurt School moved to the US and infiltrated academia promoting what is Western Marxism and spawning the New Left. The strategy is simple, infiltrate the Western institutions of knowledge and use critical theory to subvert society.

      Critical theory destroys anything of value and promotes things that divide to undermine culture, the shared values, beliefs and mores. Cutting these connections which hold a society together weakens it and a destroys to enable a revolution of the “mind”. New ideas consistent with global marxism can be imparted into the now demoralized society to achieve the ultimate goal of a global “Communist” world.

      It is basically brainwashing through culture, art, media, entertainment and State institutions which have been infiltrated… for the sole purpose of dividing and demoralizing a society making it vulnerable to Globalism and subverting the nation State.

      Everyone senses that something is very wrong and has been for a while, now you know, the West has been infiltrated by Marxist ideology through cultural Marxism and its strategy is demoralization, “mind” war is raging and we didn’t even k

      Report Post » Sue Dohnim  
    • Sue Dohnim
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:33am

      know it..

      Report Post » Sue Dohnim  
    • Sue Dohnim
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 3:49pm

      Van Jones group studied Gramsci they admitted it in STORM… CULTURE AS A WEAPON

      http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/41671/

      411 facilitated political education trainings in every membership meeting. It also conducted bi-monthly weekend “intensives.” We began with Marxist “basics,” laying a foundation on which to build an understanding of Third World communism. We studied philosophy, wage exploitation, capitalism, imperialism and globalization, Lenin’s theories of the state, revolution and the party, and the political ideas of Mao Tse-tung and Antonio Gramsci.

      The Culture & Propaganda Work Group engaged in a study of the role of cultural work in the revolutionary movement.They studied Cabral, Mao, Gramsci, Fanon and others.They also developed several pieces of propaganda to promote STORM’s line, including a widely popular piece on the nature of the prison-industrial complex.

      Members of the Culture & Propaganda Work Group studied the writings of Gramsci, Bertolt Brecht, Mao Tse-Tung, and Amilcar Cabral on the role of cultural workers in the revolutionary movement.They translated their study into workshops on using “culture as a weapon” in the liberation struggle. They conducted these workshops throughout the Bay Area.

      Report Post » Sue Dohnim  
  • Steve28
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:26am

    Yep, no substance just a story and persona built to lie to the people about their real agenda.

    Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:22am

    All hype and glitz… Zero substance.

    Report Post »  
  • REETZBEE
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:21am

    They sure know how to make fools out of the people who voted for Obama.

    Report Post » REETZBEE  
  • eternal_vigilance
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:14am

    Bleeding heart liberals.Enough said.

    Report Post » eternal_vigilance  
  • BoyScout_Mom
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:07am

    The Cult of Personality the Left worships is all based on emotion. In other words, keep giving them their sugar, heroin, and sex. Keep them soo intoxicated on all the hype and the lies we are telling them, appealing to their God-Like Self, just like the Serpent in the Tree — that they won’t even realize we are slitting their throats.

    YES I CAN

    COME AND TAKE IT

    Report Post » BoyScout_Mom  
  • Constructionist
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 9:58am

    You can’t deny the power of winning hearts and minds. That’s why it worked so well in Vietnam… and Iraq… and Afghanistan

    Report Post » Constructionist  
  • oudbob
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 9:46am

    Breitbart can do it. He has the young “Acorn-busting” movie maker.

    Report Post »  
    • nelbert
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:02am

      Ummm … no, Breitbart can‘t do it because he’s dead, but certainly those working at Breitbart.com, along with many other good talents among the right, could meet the challenge.

      But what struck me looking at all this was how hollow and vapid it all was. The idea is to pick a leader, not a wacky Hawaiian shirt. (That’s not a bad description of Obama).

      Report Post » nelbert  
  • AZGodGoldGuns
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 9:40am

    It went from “HOPE” in 2008, to “HOPE HE IS NOT RE-ELECTED”

    Report Post »  
  • BobtheMoron
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 9:35am

    Another stupid article.

    Report Post » BobtheMoron  
  • RightPolitically
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 9:27am

    I don’t see how our side does it. The Arts are owned by liberals for a reason. Art is emotion, art is feelings and art appeals to those who live their lives through emotion and feelings: the young, the impressionable and those who believe they can change the world, in other words, LIBERALS!

    Report Post » RightPolitically  
    • OhioRifleman
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 10:35am

      Our side does it for just exactly the reason you pointed out. The Right lives through reality, not through skewed perceptions. Art has little effect on the Right because we do not feel our way through problems, we analyze and fix those problems. We have no interest in ‘feel-good‘ solutions to problems made by trying to fix the last generation’s collections of FUBAR.

      In short, the Left has to get off on emotions. The Right wins on objective reality.

      Report Post » OhioRifleman  
    • Dmoreau508
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:31am

      First, your assumption about art with being emotional, subjective, etc., is a liberal presupposition about art that started with Hegel (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831) and his Dialectical Idealism which says that ideals are neither true or false but must be synthesized so that there are no absolutes of right and wrong, which leads to moral nihilism. From this position,came the subjective movement that began in art in Western Culture and has moved down into Philosophy, Law, Education, Music and now in Christian Theology. Before Hegel and His Dialectical Idealism, art was very objective and built upon objective moral truths and was rarely, if any, subjective in its content where only emotions determine its worth and value – this, my friends, is the lie of liberalism and it has been preached so much in our society that most people do not question it but accept it with being the facts of life and truth when in fact it is a lie and a detrimental lie at its best and worst.

      Art before the 18th and up to the early 19th century was built on rational models of moral absolutes and was the basis on which much Christian art was founded.

      He who blinds himself to truth, moral absolutes and reality will blind himself to God and the ability to love. This is a moral absolute with which liberals desire that you do not know.

      Report Post »  
    • Dmoreau508
      Posted on June 7, 2012 at 11:56am

      When you see so called artists who create such abominations as a Cross of Jesus upside down in a glass of urine and call it art, you are seeing what liberalism has done to the arts. When you see, Picasso and his strange forms of art that required emotional responses without rational thinking, you are seeing what liberalism has done to the arts. When you hear music with the most vile and vain things that are said as if they are absolute truths (such as killing your mother and raping your sister), you are seeing what liberalism has done to art.

      One of the gravest errors of liberalism is that they claim there are NO MORAL ABSOLUTES but their very premise, i.e., there are no moral absolutes, is a moral absolute and a contradiction to their own twisted thinking.

      Report Post »  
  • chucksue351
    Posted on June 7, 2012 at 9:22am

    chairman mao che etc

    Report Post »  
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