to sell cigarettes, vodka and sportswear?
ALICE WYLLIE
DARK eyes stare out from a gruff, handsome face. Raised slightly, they
look towards the horizon with hope, resilience and determination. The
lips are slightly pursed, the nostrils flared. The hair is wild and
curly under the black beret.
Stunning, iconic, indelible, a picture-perfect revolutionary, the image
speaks of outrage against social injustice, and a determination to put
things right, whatever the cost.
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Arguably one of the most recognisable images of the 20th century,
certainly the most reproduced in the history of photography, the black,
white and red image of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara has appeared on everything
from mugs to lighters, T-shirts to condoms, and still hangs on the walls
of student dormitories across the world 40 years after the Argentine
revolutionary was executed on 9 October 1967 by the Bolivian army with
the support of the CIA.
Of the countless students who have worn his face on their T-shirts,
pinned it on their wall, and carried placards bearing his image at
demonstrations, many will have scant knowledge about the man himself.
The image has surpassed the man, and helped turn Guevara into a 20th
century icon. Ironically, had he lived, and the image not been produced,
the legend of Che might have died long ago.
The original photograph was taken by then-unknown photographer Alberto
Korda at a memorial service in Havana in 1960. "Finding Che in his
lens," writes Jon Lee Anderson, in Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life,
"Korda focused and was stunned by the expression on Che's face. It was
one of absolute implacability".
On the same film were photographs of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de
Beauvoir which were much more valuable at the time. The journal
Revolucion rejected it, and the Guevara photograph was not published
until seven years later.
Shortly before Guevara's assassination the image was made into a poster
by the socialist publisher Feltrinelli and it quickly became a
bestseller around the world. In 1968, Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick, who
had been given a copy of the photograph by a group of Dutch anarchists
in 1965, transformed the photograph into a high-contrast graphic image
that could be easily reproduced.
"I actually met Che Guevara when I was much younger," says Fitzpatrick,
adding he found the revolutionary " very charismatic, charming and
incredibly handsome".
The artists explains: "I wanted to create an image of Che because I was
so inspired by what he did and what he stood for."
Despite not claiming any copyright on the image, Fitzpatrick reveals
that he was determined to put his own stamp on it: "I wanted there to be
a bit of me in there, so I hid the letter 'F' for Fitzpatrick in Che's
shoulder. I've never actually told anyone that, though." The image was
especially prominent during the Paris student protests of 1968, and
quickly became shorthand for anti-establishment cool. It was used widely
in protests against the Vietnam war, and has since been used by those
who consider themselves anti-American, anti-war, anti-capitalism, or
just all-round cool.
Neither Fitzpatrick nor Korda have ever asked for royalties for the use
of the image, simply because they both felt that Che's image represented
his revolutionary ideals, and the more his picture spread the greater
the chance that their hero's ideals would spread.
"Legally I own the copyright to the graphic image, but I've never
claimed it, because I've always wanted people to be able to use it
freely. I wanted it to proliferate, I wanted it to be everywhere, to
make sure he was never forgotten," says Fitzpatrick.
And Korda's photograph and Fitzpatrick's interpretation have ensured
that not only has he not been forgotten, but much to his opposers'
dismay, he has been immortalised, his image worshipped to an almost
Christ-like degree.
Yet the image has been reproduced so frequently that in many ways it has
been drained of any meaning, utilised by the allies of those Guevara
hated: global companies who have used and abused it as a gimmick. Nike
deftly switched the star on Guevara's beret with their famous swoosh,
while Magnum ice-creams created a "Cherry Guevara" flavour ice-cream.
In the fashion world, his iconic good looks have proven irresistible.
Model Gisele Bündchen has strutted down the catwalk in a Che bikini and
Louis Vuitton created a $4,500 Che-embroidered handbag. And perhaps the
final nail in the communist coffin, the third in the line to the British
Throne, Prince Harry, has been photographed wearing the image on a T-shirt.
Make no mistake about it, Che Guevara is a brand, and, for the
corporations who wish to make their products more appealing to
idealistic young people, there's no business like Che business.
However, Korda, a lifelong communist who died in 2001, decided that
things had gone too far in 2000 when he discovered that the picture was
being used to sell Smirnoff vodka. He accused advertising agency Lowe
Lintas and picture agency Rex Features of trivialising the photograph's
historical significance by superimposing it with a hammer and sickle
motif, replacing the sickle with a chilli pepper to advertise spicy vodka.
"As a supporter of the ideals for which Che Guevara died, I am not
averse to its reproduction by those who wish to propagate his memory and
the cause of social justice throughout the world," he said at the time.
"But to use the image of Che Guevara to sell vodka is a slur on his name
and memory. He never drank himself, he was not a drunk, and drink should
not be associated with his immortal memory."
But what is it that makes Che quite so marketable?
"Ironically, Che Guevara's image is extremely marketable," says
marketing expert Russell Ferguson, of Glasgow-based sales and marketing
company RFM. "We associate certain brands with certain ideals and
values, partly because of the way they are marketed. The image of Che is
so recognisable because it has been so widely distributed, and it has
come to represent radical ideals for people as soon as they see it,
without having to know much about the man himself."
"As a graphic designer, the image of Che Guevara is up there for me as
one of the best examples of graphic design, along with things like the
Rolling Stones' lips logo," adds Ellen McBride, the CEO of EMB Graphics
in Aberfeldy. "The combination of the colours red and black is extremely
powerful. The image is simple, yet instantly recognisable, and its
simplicity means that it is very easily reproduced. I love it."
Of course there is no denying that Che Guevara was arrestingly handsome,
and whether you are touting cars, razors or political ideals, sex sells.
Beloved by women, Che was famed for his good looks, his charm and
charisma. Paul Newman once said, "If I'd been born with brown eyes, I
wouldn't be a film star." Perhaps if Che Guevara hadn't been quite so
attractive, he wouldn't have achieved the mythical status he has done.
So would the image be as well-known if Guevara wasn't so, well, sexy?
Would a slightly more jowly profile be as appealing? Could someone with
piggy eyes or chubby cheeks have become the poster boy for the
revolution? And would Fidel Castro's slightly less inspiring features
have ignited such passion?
"Forget the image, I don't think that the revolution would have happened
if Che wasn't so sexy!" jokes Fitzpatrick. "He was very handsome, and
that's definitely a big part of the image's appeal. I doubt I'd have
given a photograph of Castro the same treatment."
Guevara's immortality has come at a price, one it is unlikely that the
man himself would have been willing to pay. His image has been parodied
and abused, used to sell everything from cigarettes to jeans. There is
even a brand of washing powder bearing his image, beside the slogan "Che
washes whiter". His supporters may daub "Che lives!" on walls across
South America, but for most of the world, he lives on, not in the hearts
of revolutionaries, but in the wallets of capitalists selling
"revolutionary chic".
HIS LIFE
1928: Che Guevara - full name Ernesto Guevara de Serna - was born on 14
June in Rosario, Argentina.
1953: Graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. During his medical
studies, he travelled through Latin America and the poverty he saw led
him to study Marx and the reforms of Guatemala's president Jacobo Arbenz
Guzmán.
1955: Joined Fidel Castro's movement to play an important role in the
Cuban revolution that ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista. As "supreme
prosecutor" he presided over the execution of hundreds of suspected war
criminals.
1961: Became Cuba's Minister of Industries
1965: Led a Cuban expedition in support of the Marxist Simba movement in
Congo-Kinshasa (the former Belgian Congo).
1966: Returned to South America to lead guerrillas in Bolivia.
1967: Captured in La Higuera by the CIA-backed Bolivian Army, and was
executed on 9 October.
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