Artist who was payed $400k by government for camel sculpture helped raise 4.2 million for Obama campaign...

Exclusive: U.S. Taxpayers To Spend $400,000 For A Camel Sculpture In Pakistan

A camel staring at the eye of a needle would decorate a new American embassy — in a country where the average income yearly is $1,250.

Aram Roston

The State Department is planning to spend $400,000 in taxpayer funds to buy a sculpture for the new American embassy being built in Islamabad, Pakistan, according to contracting records.

The work, by noted American artist John Baldessari, depicts a life-size white camel made of fiberglass staring in puzzlement at the eye of an oversize shiny needle — a not-so-subtle play on the New Testament phrase about the difficulty the wealthy have in entering the kingdom of heaven.

Officials explained the decision to purchase the piece of art, titled “Camel Contemplating Needle,” in a four-page document justifying a “sole source” procurement. “This artist’s product is uniquely qualified,” the document explains. “Public art which will be presented in the new embassy should reflect the values of a predominantly Islamist country,” it says. (Like the Bible, the Qur’an uses the metaphor of a camel passing through the eye of a needle.)

Read the rest if you can stand it:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/aramroston/exclusive-us-taxpayers-to-spend-400000-for-a-camel-sculpture


The real reason why we are buying the camel. It is political crony payback time...


President Obama's Reelection Campaign Could Receive $4.2M Boost From Artists John Baldessari, Frank Gehry And More

The Huffington Post | By Katherine Brooks Posted: 09/11/2012

President Obama demonstrated that he still has a knack for mobilizing members of the art world this week.

According to The Los Angeles Times, a group of artists led by big names such as John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Japer Johns and Ellsworth Kelly have announced they are creating a portfolio of limited edition prints and other works that will be sold to raise money for the president's campaign.

Nineteen artists in total offered up their talents for the portfolio, which was created in collaboration with an LA-based art workshop and publishing collective Gemini G.E.L. The finished portfolio will be sold for $28,000, a sum that will be donated directly to Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Don't think the team stopped at only one portfolio, however -- 150 are now on sale, amounting to a hefty potential fundraising fete of $4.2 million, reports The LA Times...

Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/11/president-obamas-reelecti_n_1873730.html