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The field of politics has been referred to as “the art of the possible,” but what place does art truly hold in politics (or vice versa)? While many artists would say that art should transcend - or at least be divorced from - politics, photographer Jill Greenberg seems to think otherwise. Greenberg, who exhibits her work on her webpage manipulator.com, made a very strong and very public statement about her latest subject, Republican presidential nominee John McCain, through her photography. Greenberg’s work has come under fire since one of her photos served as the cover for the latest issue of The Atlantic magazine. Greenberg was contracted to photograph McCain for the publication, but her website displays further photographs of McCain which are edited to literally look like something out of a horror movie. Perhaps even more provocative than the visual editing are the photograph captions, which read, consecutively:

Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.” - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.*

*mccain voted against mlk day

It was really fun to cheat on my car-injury-disabled first wife.

and

I called my wife a cunt in front of reporters.

While the shock value of the photos is obvious, their place in contemporary American politics, not to mention the art world, is unclear. While politically motivated blue-state activists might consider the photographs to be visionary, one cannot help but wonder what Greenberg hopes to accomplish by displaying them. At the same time, although media-minded red-state activists have decried the photographs as “sarcastic” at best, Greenberg certainly cannot be accused of dishonesty when it comes to her political assessments. The Canadian born artist makes no bones about her liberal political tendencies, nor is this the first time her professionalism has been questioned. Slate notes that her series of photographs entitled “End Times,” which showed toddlers in the midst of tantrums, gained international notoriety as her methods were questioned and labeled abusive by some critics. Greenberg did not hesitate to answer the criticism with contextual remarks which, in retrospect, may have provided a preview of the current controversy:

They’re not meant to be read as mere baby pictures; they’re meant to be a statement. As Greenberg herself explains in the gallery’s press release, “The first little boy I shot, Liam, suddenly became hysterically upset. It reminded me of helplessness and anger I feel about our current political and social situation.” “As a parent,” she continues, “I have to reckon with the knowledge that our children will suffer for the mistakes our government is making. Their pain is a precursor of what is to come.”

The controversy over the McCain photographs will likely spin further out of control before it settles; Greenberg has already been dropped by her agent in retribution for the series, and re-signed with a previous agency. This is despite the fact that her photographs have graced the covers of national periodicals such as Time Magazine, Newsweek, and TV Guide. And since controversy is hardly a detractor when it comes to media coverage, it seems likely that her career will not suffer from the series in the long run. But it remains to be seen whether Greenberg’s honesty is really her best policy; the Atlantic has stated publicly that it may file charges against her despite using one of the photographs from the series on its cover. Her journalistic integrity, if she had any, is likely now permanently kaput. On the other hand enthusiasts note that art is not journalism, and as super-activist and singer Bono says, “It is the artist’s job to define the problem.” Clearly Greenberg feels that right-wing politics are the problem; but her work may ultimately backfire on her. It engenders a certain amount of sympathy for McCain and illustrates nothing so well as the divisiveness and single-mindedness of the blue state/red state controversy… and in the end we may decide that’s the real enemy.

Read more of our series on ‘expanding the concept of art’

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Ruins in Angkor, Cambodia

Kenneth Parker Photography - Temple ruins are overgrown with the roots of giant trees.

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Webby Awards: Excellence on the internet.

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences have honored their selections for the best internet sites with Webby Awards for 2008. We have taken the liberty of paring down the list of 140 sites to bring you some notable winners:

PostSecret (Blog; Cultural/Personal) - A weekly conglomeration of postcards sent in by anonymous readers with something to confess. A must-view for your inner vouyer.

HowStuffWorks.com (Best Copy/Writing) - What makes a superdelegate “super?” Why is that little black box so important? What is a sword swallower actually swallowing? Find answers to the nagging questions that prevent you from dedicating your full attention to whatever it is you’re actually supposed to be doing. Good for simple instructions, not great for deep philosophical matters.

BestWeekEver.tv (People’s Voice Winner, Celebrity/Fan site) - Online version of VH1’s hit pop culture meta-show. Chock full of juicy links.

TheOnion.com (Humor) - Snarkasm at its best.

PassiveAggressiveNotes.com (Weird) - A cross between PostSecret and PostcardsFromYoMamma.

HuffingtonPost.com (Blog; Political) - Arianna’s wikizine, and source of some of our favorite political analysis. May not be appropriate for red state readers.

BBC (People’s Voice Winner, News) - Global news without Rupert Murdoch’s approval.

Artocracy.com (People’s Voice Winner, Art) - Dedicated to improving the sustainability of affordable, original artwork by using the internet to connect patrons and artists.

National Geographic (Best Use of Photography) - Reader submission photographs from around the world.

Yelp.com (Guide/Reviews) - The web’s Zagat.

LoveIsRespect.org (Activism) - With the National Center for Disease Control (CDC) declaring intimate partner violence a national health epidemic, the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline has employed direct advertising dollars to created a user-friendly website suitable as a first resource for teens and adults alike.

Katrina; An Unnatural Disaster (Charitable) - The Open Society Institutes’s longitudinal look at the social implications and after-effects of hurricane Katrina.

Design for the Other 90% (Cultural Institution) - The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s exhibition on sustainable, humanitarian design projects.

Kiva.org (People’s Voice Award; Charitable) - The web’s leader in global improvement by microlending.

Blurb.com (Services) - Make your own books.

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