Obama Graffiti Illustrates Divide

It appeared on a lonely street corner in Chicago: a stenciled silhouette of Barack Obama holding a microphone that connects to the United States. Immediately one wonders, What does it mean?

We can assume that this graffiti, somewhere on the streets of his hometown, is a gesture of support for Senator Obama. But it's hard to deny the bleak effect it has on the viewer.

Obama stands on a street corner--one hand holding a microphone, the other hand pleading--while on the other side hovers the United States, streaked with dripping paint. The only link between the Senator and his country is a long, meandering wire that he seems one step away from tripping over.

The raw loneliness is also marked by the image's physical disconnectedness. A passerby on one side of the street only sees Obama speaking to a rally, while someone on the other side sees nothing but the U.S. floating from a frail string. Only a person turning the corner or standing on the other side of the street sees the complete image. Even then, the street corner's three-dimensional divide is hard to ignore.

But, what about the image itself? Is the Illinois senator and probable Democratic presidential nominee speaking to us or through us? Is the fate of our nation inexplicably linked to this agent of change, or are we simply the vehicle or amplifier for his personal message and ambitions?

B. Brandon Barker is the author of the novel Operation EMU.