Label Text:
Eisenhower wins in USA, New York records an announcement of Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon’s reelection to the presidency and vice presidency. The texts in this photograph contrast official announcement with personal statements of support and explore the role of slogans in individuals’ participation in elections.
Both of Eisenhower’s presidential campaigns used the slogan “I LIKE IKE AND DICK,” which is printed on one of the picket signs in this photograph. The slogan was reproduced in numerous languages and on a wide variety of memorabilia. Despite the ubiquity of the phrase, the first-person voice of “I like Ike” encourages the speaker to co-opt it as the personal proclamation of an engaged participant. Similarly, the personal tone of the other sign makes it that much more pointed in its mockery of opposing candidates Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver.
By the time Eisenhower wins was taken, campaign memorabilia was becoming obsolete. Radio and television allowed campaigns to reach people in their homes, eroding campaigning’s participatory nature. An example of citizens’ investment in democracy, this photograph is also a testament to the effects of new forms of address: most people in the photograph are only passersby, making the sign-holders appear like remnants from a dispersed rally.
MD, PHOTOdocument exhibition, March 30, 2012-July 22, 2012
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=AC+2010.18 |
