What Is Up With Our Need to Make Obama Food?
Today, I spied not one but two Obama food portraits in the blogs I follow. Over at the Village Voice, Robert Sietsema discovered a loaf of bread with Obama's face on it:
Meanwhile, Obama Foodorama reposted a photo of Enchanted Garbage Can's portrait of the president in Skittles:
Last month, the same blog covered Zilly Rosen's cupcake installation of Obama and Lincoln portraits, which she exhibited at the Smithsonian:
Even before the election, I took pictures of local Little Rae's Bakery's Obama family sugar cookies, which were not only attractive but delicious:
And of course, there were Trophy Cupcakes' famous Obama cakes, of which they made thousands to celebrate the election and inauguration:
A quick Google image search finds an additional Zilly cupcake portrait, cookies, pizza, and coffee art.
I don't remember a single W. or Clinton cake, though of course I wasn't following food blogs in the 1990s and early 2000s (however, I just found this creepy cake on the Web). Clearly, the strength and reproduceability of the Shepard Fairey portrait has fueled this trend, as have the rising numbers of artists working in food.
I'm also a little disturbed. Without straying into Mudedeland, I wonder: Are we Dems so passionate about our new president that we need to consume him, even in effigy? By eating Obama's face, are we hoping for some kind of protection or power? Is cake the new black velvet? Is liberal president-worshipping the new conservative flag-idolizing? Is Obama the new Mao?
2 comment(s)
Hillary says:
We are pretty Obama-crazed! Thanks for linking to the cupcakes.
Posted On: Thursday, Mar. 5 2009 @ 8:23AM
Jonathan K says:
It doesn't stop. Serious Eats had a post today about a cereal Obama:
http://www.cerealart.com/shopexd.asp?id=506
Posted On: Monday, Mar. 9 2009 @ 2:06PM