New York Magazine has a long feature on the eight years of Obama’s America.
The first illustration in the piece is a compelling diptych of President Obama: two portraits taken eight years apart. The difference is stark. His hair has turned grey and his face is rumpled.
President Barack Obama, by Dan Winters
However, the photograph that really brought home for me the changes of the past eight years was one taken on inauguration day in January 2009. Its a version of an image that I’ve commented on before.
Inauguration party, 2009. Chicago Tribune/MCT
At first glance, the image looks modern. People mediating their own experience of the moment via a glowing rectangle. Taking their very own version of a famous photograph.
But when you compare it to the photograph below, taken in 2016, the inauguration image suddenly looks horribly dated.
Hillary Clinton waves to a selfie-taking crowd at a recent campaign event in Orlando, Florida. Photo: Barbara Kinney
And his ears have moved outwards!