The famous interview between David Frost and Richard Nixon has recently received renewed media attention following its twentieth anniversary. Those not willing to sit through hours of unedited footage though, like me, can just watch this film. Handy huh? No doubt some of the depth is lost, but this movie also provides fascinating background, such as the difficulties faced by Frost and the mood of a general public hungry for an apology from Nixon, the most despised President in American history. In parts the film does seem to enhance the tension for effect, but overall it’s fascinating to see how Frost manages to cajole Nixon into an apology. By following Frost as he prepares for the interviews, the film also analyses some of the policies of a President that caused unbelievable worldwide damage, with ramifications still manifesting themselves today.

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The very talented Jess Snow, the first video artist to be featured by Female Persuasion — the original site for provocative and political female artists — created this ethereal short video for Lost At E Minor. We feel it. We love it. Just like we dug the video that Lifelongfriendshipsociety created. Aw, shucks!

It’s been a while since we’ve had a global leader who also happens to be a folk hero. The amateur portraits of our new Commander-in-Chief posted at the <a href=” http://referencelibrary.blogspot.com/2009/01/obama.html”>Reference Library</a> reflect the reverence so many have for him.

They say he’s the best orator of our time. He delivers his message with an eloquence difficult to find in these days of jumbled political spiel. So if you suffered a mild twinge of jealousy at Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday, cast away your tied tongue and get to work on a new skill by creating your very own inauguration speech.

Sure, President Obama is just as human as the rest of us, and there is a certain excessiveness to the extent to which he’s been idealized, but I’d rather have a President the world views as a secret agent ninja than one the world views as a bumbling, ignorant fool. Can you imagine an action figure like this one by Hong Kong-based DID Corporation made of Dubya? If they did make one, it’d probably be along the lines of Maxwell Smart.

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Tomorrow we’ll be sending out a special Shepard Fairey Guest Compiled issue of our free weekly email publication to our email subscribers, featuring the work of his favorite artists, photographers and music. Fairey’s iconic image of Barack Obama was recently the cover of Time Magazine’s Person Of The Year issue, but he was well known previously as the creator of the ubiquitous Andre The Giant sticker. We’re honored to have him write exclusively for us about the artwork that excited him most in 2008. You can sign up to receive this Guest Compiled issue by subscribing to the free weekly Lost At E Minor email publication.

I love the dramatically flecked colored tones and sense of playful discontent about the poster artwork of Vancouver-based designer, Dennis Boyle. Of this series, he says: ‘They are different social messages that specifically use typography — or in some cases, graphics — as the main tool for communication’. Indeed. Very fitting for the times and superbly realized as standalone artworks in their own right.

Russian political science professor Igor Panarin recently caused a bit of a stir, predicting that the US will break apart in 2010, when the current financial crisis will have resulted in social crisis big enough to tear the Union into six pieces. Kevin Kelly, Editor-At-Large for Wired Magazine, has posted a discussion on the likelihood of Panarin’s prediction coming true.

The Obama campaign was one of the most visually effective in recent history, brilliantly tapping modern marketing concepts and design to get its message across. The deceptively simple logo they chose stemmed from an amalgamation of a lot of different concepts the Obama designers came up with. Logo Design Love just posted all the different looks that weren’t used.

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Obama’s election campaign was something of a celebrity fanfare not seen since Reagan took up the seat back in the 1980s. While we’re yet to see whether the hype that surrounds his name is followed though, there is no question that his calls for ‘Change’ have already injected a new sense of political zest both into the US and much of the rest of the world. Politics has suddenly become exciting, and his unprecedented tactics for private fundraising have made his supporters believe that they have a personal stake in the government. So how appealing is political participation now?

In America, people were willing to donate their private money to get the man in office. Yet the real test could come on November 28 (the 29th for the rest of the world) on the international Buy Nothing Day: “There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of … Planet Earth. We have to consume less,” say the guys at Adbusters, who, like the Yes Men, have cleverly fused the realms of popular culture and politics into one exciting body. Can you keep away from the shops for one day only? Wait until the belly starts rumbling.

As Internet-savvy as President-Elect Obama is, I wonder if he’s played the hilarious flash game, Super Obama World, a Super Mario-esque spoof in which Obama must defeat lipstick-sporting pigs and money-hungry lobbyists roaming around the icy tundras of Alaska while collecting flag pins.

In the wake of America’s historic presidential election, nearly two years of divisive campaigning, and eight years of a controversial administration, the nation is in desperate need of healing. Beloved Internet personality Ze Frank started From 58 to 42 with Love where contributors use their webcams to post messages reaching out to the side of the country that didn’t vote for their guy. It’s saccharine at times, and there are one or two borderline nasty posts from people that don’t seem completely onboard with the project’s objective. But overall, it’s pretty effective and moving. I’ll admit I needed a couple tissues while reading it.

While the rest of the world spent election night biting fingernails whilst glued to the TV set, it’s kinda nice to know that President Elect, Barack Obama, was doing exactly the same thing, as these wonderfully low-key insider snaps from David Katz reveals.

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I saw these W faces stuck onto the movie poster of W on the Upper West Side of New York. They’re so cool looking, I just had to take a photo.

Guardian newspaper cartoonist Steve Bell is a bit of a household treasure in England: a very astute political observer who picks up so well on the little nuances in speech and image that are key to good cartoonists. His work is nothing short of hilarious. So he must have felt like a present landed on his lap the day Bush came into power — depictions of him as a monkey, a lame duck, his ‘special relationship’ with Blair, and so on, are some of the best I’ve seen. No-one gets an easy ride: he’s now having a whale of a time with Palin.

My friend and artist Emily Gearhart just sent me this video. It’s probably the funniest video I have ever seen. Oh, what a great way to remind your friends to vote. You can customise it with your friend’s name and then send it out them. Fun, fun, fun.

Recent developments in technology and communication mean that the critiques of any event hit the news faster than ever before. This allows artists to react while events are still happening. Redacted is one brilliant example. The film industry is producing a raft of films around the ongoing ‘War on Terror’, but none reproduces the reality of the Iraq conflict with more honesty. Inspired by actual events it follows a unit of American troops that have become disillusioned and restless, the product of an army forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel of society for recruits. It shows the consequences of sending poorly educated and quickly trained troops into a confusing situation with high-powered weapons and little consideration of consequences. This film provides a gripping, accurate and balanced portrait of this confusing conflict and should be viewed by anyone interested in the reality behind the media reports.

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Spelling Change was developed by a group of creative professionals to spread awareness and passion about the Obama campaign. Its goal is to encourage one-to-one communication by creating tools that help people get out the word on issues that are important to them. Artists and designers were asked to create a letter of the alphabet inspired by the Obama campaign. These letters were then printed on t-shirts and distributed to photographers, who shot Obama supporters from all walks of life wearing them. The result is a living alphabet that shows the incredible breadth of Obama’s appeal and a widespread desire for real change in Washington.

Now, you can use this living alphabet to create emails, t-shirts, posters, bumper stickers, and postcards personalized with your own messages of hope and change. You can also design and upload your own letter, becoming part of a creative community fueled by a shared passion to change America from within.

I love Sarah Silverman’s borderline offensive dark and bold sense of humour. Marcos Chin sent me this short video on The Geat Schlep site, which makes me want to vote and convince my grandma to vote too. Well, I am not Jewish, not a US citizen, and my grandma is not in Florida. But at least you should watch. And vote.

Illustrator Hope Gangloff has a stack of her ‘election’ tees from the previous US election available for sale which she created with the talented New York-based artist (and her hubbie, no less!), Ben Degen. Even though they were done to mark Bush’s reappointment, they still kinda sum up her mood on the tussle between Obama and McCain. ‘If the election gets stolen’, she says. ‘What say we burn down the capital instead of blogging about it?’. Hmmm, now there’s an idea.