Broad Image Search - Research and Analysis

Research description:
My goal in this phase of research to achieve a broad immersion of all the different types of Che images. I felt this was both necessary because of my lack of exposure, as well as additionally helpful because it allowed me to form my first impressions very consciously. There was very little that I presupposed about what information would be significant in the images. The purpose of the search was primarily to get oriented enough to even know what to focus on.

For my search, I chose two particularly broad databases: Google and Flickr. For each I searched straightforwardly for “Che Guevara.” As a matter of interest, I also browsed some results from the editorial library of Getty Images to contrast these results. In my Google Image search I examined 450 pictures (the first 25 pages of results) and noted the unique images as well as their context. Though I didn’t document it, I also internally noted the frequency with which other images repeated. As I saved pictures, I made an informal indication about how or where they were being used (“anitche_politicalblog.jpg” for example). Due to the individualized nature of it’s content, I felt that flickr would provide some insights that Google did not. I searched about 250 images in flickr.

Findings, trends:
- Initially, I was surprised by how many critical and satirical Che images I uncovered. After eliminating the most commonly repeated images (in particular the B&W reduction of the famous Korda photograph over a red background), these comprised about half of the unique results.
- Next I noticed where these and the other unique images were coming from. A disproportionate number came from political blogs (either to the extreme political right or left). They seemed to either demonize him or idolize him (respectively). The former tended to be t-shirts with the classic image and cynical text (“Communism killed 100 million people and all I got was this lousy t-shirt” etc). Other recurring sources seemed to be thumbnails from news clippings, fine art galleries, and merchandize stores. A significant number of merchandize results were for posters, books, or photographic print of his image.
- Moving on to search flickr, the results seemed more weighted. They still contained Che satire images and generic highly repeated images, but less proportionally. Instead, they contained a higher proportion of tributes revering Che and photographs of found objects/images recognizing Che (statues, graffiti, etc.)
- Within the flickr results, I noticed that (relative to normal flickr images or the Google Che images) they had lots of text accompanying them. Most of the time this was a biographical tribute to Che.
- Among the editorial results (both from Getty and Google), Che seemed most frequently depicted as a political figurehead (being waved on flags at a rally, etc.) or an extreme merchandize item (being worn by a model as a pattern on a bikini).

Points of interest:
- Large scale bust statue in Boliva
- Coin with head on Che face that reads “Patria O Meurte”
- Use of Che’s image by Cuban government on found objects (including large-scale sculptures, banners, and even his signature on the national currency)
- Modernized graffiti of Che “in our image”
- Personalizations of the Korda silhouette on black (including a self-portrait, depiction of Jesus, and Nintendo’s Mario)
- Jesus made to look like Che on billboard
- An editorial photograph of Che with John Lennon
- A Che Bikini
- A Che onesie
- A grayscale Che tattoo (left shoulder)
- Digital tribute art to Che
- The appearance of Che posters or stencil art in S. Korea, Ireland, and England (by artist Banksy)
- Victims of Che poster
- Photoshopped image of Che looking down Marilyn Monroe’s shirt
- Che’s face made to look like a monkey or replaced with a skull
- A photograph of a book page using different American brands to build the Che image (Disney, Chrysler, etc). Opposite is the same made out of spilled coffee.
- An arena of people used as “human pixels” to make the image of Che (unknown circumstances)

Deliverables:
The total of unique images selected from each source was 171. In addition to the naming, these images were organized by folder into several categories:
- “Anti-Che, Satire”
- “Editorial” (I included some for-sale photo prints here)
- “Merchandize” (I included for-sale posters and books here)
- “Political figurehead, Pro-Che” (I included some editorial images here)
- “Tribute” (This was based more on context. It included many categories)
- “Art” (I included Graffiti and Murals within this)
These images and folders were then packaged into a compressed “.zip” file and made accessible to the Che group via email, so we can use them to accelerate research and as a common reference point. Though not posted online, I synthesized this same group of images into an unorganized HTML photo gallery.

Possible direction for future research:
- Search Deviant Art, an online art community
- Extend Getty Images search
- Search Google and Flickr for “Che Merchandize”
- Research and graph trends in text accompanying Che images on Flickr
- Present a more detailed analysis of context where “Che Guevara” images are found on Google (with screenshots, trends, and other useful info)
- Research how Che is used as a Cuban identity (travel websites, government banners and built objects). Focus especially on the city of Santa Clara.