AMERICAN CORPAGANDA

In 2012, artist Margo Neely created a series of political art prints titled “American Corpaganda,” which now seems chillingly prescient in light of the rise of Trump and his subsequent influence on American politics. Margo Neely’s political art prints and public installation “American Corpoganda” were/are a commentary on the impact of capitalism on American culture and consumerism. The title itself highlights the pervasive influence of big business on American life, our very own Big Brother.

Neely’s prints take the iconic British “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters and replace the slogan with the slogans and iconography of American fast-food restaurants. The result is a striking juxtaposition of wartime rhetoric and corporate branding, suggesting that our consumerist culture has become a kind of battleground. With the work produced years in advance of our current socio-political circus, “American Corpaganda” is a timely reminder that art is both prescient and a keen observation of the cyclical nature of history.

Her fake Russian collusion election boxes for the Trump-Biden presidential election (created in 2020), planted in public locations, are a comment on the highly contentious nature of modern politics and the manipulation of public opinion through disinformation and propaganda.

American Corpaganda is a survey of the modern political landscape, highlighting the ways in which capitalism and consumerism have become dominant forces in American life. Her art echoes the themes of the DADA movement, which used similar techniques to comment on the rise of fascism in the early 20th century and sought to critique the irrationality and absurdity of modern society.

The work challenges us to question the messages we receive from the media and to think critically about the ways in which we are influenced by corporate branding and propaganda. “American Corpoganda” asserts, over a century after DADA, that art remains a powerful tool for social commentary and political activism.