On the weekend I read about a group of Mao portraitists who every year re-touch a giant mural of the chairman in Tiananmen Square. More blush for the cheeks, more sheen for the chin wart, more sparkle for the ear fluff, etc. Their job is secret, their toil unrecognised (at least publicly). According to ex-Mao-muggist Wang Guodong, however, this does not mean the finer details of their artistry go unscrutinised. He was "shipped off to work as a carpenter in a framing factory" for "painting Mao at a slight tilt from the viewer that showed only one ear. The Red Guards said it implied the chairman listened to a select few rather than the masses". (My sympathies are with Mr Wang, obviously, but I have to say that shifting Mao's head around is going well beyond the "refreshment" JD, surely?)
And in news closer to home ...
I look forward, after next year's federal election, to standing awestruck before a mammoth portrait of chairman Ausmao or A Typical Aussie Battler On $200kpa hanging permanently on an inward-facing side of Westfield shopping centre's multi-story carpark. I also look forward to monitoring the subtle changes to Ausmao's visage as it is re-touched by wave after wave of graffiti banditti who couldn't give a fuck about mythology (or iconography) but know what they feel and feel like they're missing out.
2 comments:
According to Julie Bishop MP (Member for Curtain) our teachers are teaching Australian children Maoist ideology. So whens the peoples revolution happening? When can we have some portraits of Mao in our schools?
Have to say Im with the a teacher in Sunshine;
"Chris Wheat, a teacher at Sunshine Secondary College, said Victoria's curriculum had no left-wing bias. "It sounds as if Julie Bishop is trying to manipulate public opinion by inflating a few isolated instances of teachers getting kids to think," he said. "She's keeping company with Mao Zedong if she's trying to do that."
Yes, there's been a bit of 'isolated instance inflation' around these parts lately. Mostly care of duds doing Ausmao's bidding.
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