I don’t think the meaning of aesthetics that Etienne explores in this post really applies to Carrick Flynn’s campaign. Aesthetics are a more replicable, cohesive, and norm-driven way of thinking about appearances. Carrick’s Campaign may have garnered a poor public perception based on the proximity to/appearances of being a white-crypto bro. However, I don’t think this has to do with an aesthetic he cultivated–rather a public image. The aesthetic of the campaign would have been things like graphic design choices, our media selection, and the reliance on green-outdoorsy personal presentation. I worked on the campaign and our aesthetic (scant and innocuous as it was) seemed enormously disconnected from how we were perceived. That suggests a divergence between an intentionally crafted and honed aesthetic and the way that the optics of a campaign and candidate get perceived by the public.
Hello Zachary,
I don’t think the meaning of aesthetics that Etienne explores in this post really applies to Carrick Flynn’s campaign. Aesthetics are a more replicable, cohesive, and norm-driven way of thinking about appearances. Carrick’s Campaign may have garnered a poor public perception based on the proximity to/appearances of being a white-crypto bro. However, I don’t think this has to do with an aesthetic he cultivated–rather a public image. The aesthetic of the campaign would have been things like graphic design choices, our media selection, and the reliance on green-outdoorsy personal presentation. I worked on the campaign and our aesthetic (scant and innocuous as it was) seemed enormously disconnected from how we were perceived. That suggests a divergence between an intentionally crafted and honed aesthetic and the way that the optics of a campaign and candidate get perceived by the public.