The Face of the Republican Party: Mark Meadows, © 2022 Jeff Gates
My Interest in Politics
The catalyst for the Chamomile Tea Party was political, but its form is rooted in popular culture. Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, I was a child of advertising. I was curious about how ad agencies used words and images to sell a product or idea. Political persuasion is similar. This led me to explore propaganda posters, which, like advertising, use visuals and text effectively yet powerfully. With a background in political science, graphic design, and photography, I combined these interests in this work.
Why I Create These Images
In July 2010, during Senate hearings for Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation, news reports indicated the vote would likely be along party lines. Polarization was becoming the dividing wall in America. I initially believed “the greater good” could transcend party politics. But I misjudged the game of power. That’s why I created the Chamomile Tea Party. Starting with propaganda posters from World War I and II, I began remixing them with new text and imagery to comment on the troubled state of contemporary American political discourse.
How This Project Has Changed Over Time
I started the Chamomile Tea Party to comment on the bravado of the Tea Party, which began in 2009 as a protest against Barack Obama’s social and fiscal policies. Early images urged our lawmakers to promote bipartisanship. Over the years, the political landscape has changed dramatically. Tranquility and compromise, once seen as challenging but possible, now seem out of reach. These images illustrate the conflicts and pressures that our political system has faced during this turbulent period. As political conversations worsened, the focus of these pieces also shifted. Since compromise appeared impossible, later images often highlight the causes of these conflicts.
How This Series is Organized
I’ve organized this project into sections that reflect the changes in our political discourse over the past decade and a half. Each section is accessible from the menu on the right to help you explore the work.
Earlier images (2010-2015) focus on the rise of extremism and its pressure on the GOP. Later ones examine the 2016 and 2020 elections and how internal and external forces, such as shifts in our political parties and the pandemic, influenced our politics and the well-being of Americans. My latest work looks at the effects and fallout of Donald Trump’s second term as president.
Over the past fifteen years, I have created more than 300 images. This is the most extensive body of work I’ve produced in my forty years as an artist. As long as our political landscape remains on this path, I will continue to have something to say.