What's a picture worth? More than a thousand words to voters
A mishmash of voices and music blaring from video screens compete for attention inside a new art exhibit in Ohio looking at the images and sounds of presidential campaign television ads.
Organizers of the exhibit — open now through Election Day on Nov. 8 — made sure each exhibit features an equal number of commercials from both parties, said Adam Levine, the Toledo museum's associate director who's also the show's co-curator.
The exhibit features many iconic images from the past half-century, including the Kennedys campaigning in New York City in 1960 and the Barack Obama "Hope" poster designed by artist Shepard Fairey for the 2008 campaign along with posters and video materials.
"Since the time of Abraham Lincoln through the present day, presidential candidates have used photographic imagery in their campaigns to impact public opinion," says Claartje van Dijk, assistant curator of the center.
What we are seeing more of from their work is a particular style of interpretive photography.
Since the 1990s, news photographers have strived to break down "the vision of propaganda" that show candidates in idealistic settings, she said.