G-20 Inside Out

In the smaller sphere of image 1, I’m looking at: the balanced cross-table tension between Obama and Sarkozy; the focus on the one woman head of state, Cristina de Kirchner; the lightweight and peripheral quality of Medvedev; the cartoonish look of King Abdullah’s headphones; and, of course, the painting, the curtains, the panelling, the chandelier — in other words, the aristocratic and opulent quality surrounding this conclave … especially in relation to the street (and the world-wide economic hurt).

In the larger sphere, Withnail writes…

The protesters are, for the most part, Socialists and Anarchists. This is not a judgement – they want a Radical change in the status quo. Good for them. And no matter how much of a change candidate he was or (presumes to be as President) – Obama is now the Leader of the Free World. He is by nature the Status Quo. He’s a malleable quo, one more open to new ideas than anyone else might be, but he’s still in charge of making sure that the banks function and business (capitalism) runs smoothly.

(image 1: Pool/Reuters. London. April 1, 2009. image 2:Dan Kitwood / Getty Images. London. April 1, 2009)

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Michael Shaw
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