David Dees

For the British musician, see Dave Dee.

David Eugene Dees
Born(1957-07-09)July 9, 1957
DiedMay 31, 2020(2020-05-31) (aged 62)
Ashland, Oregon, U.S.
OccupationCommercial artist
Known forArt depicting conspiracy theories
WebsiteDDees.com (archived August 2, 2020)

David Eugene Dees (July 9, 1957 – May 31, 2020)[1] was an American commercial artist and graphic designer, known for his digital art depicting conspiracy theories. He began creating this type of art around 2003 after seeing photos of 9/11 that were used by conspiracy theorists.[2]

Career

Dees was an illustrator for Sesame Street Magazine.[3] He also did freelance work for Looney Tunes, Mickey Mouse, and other Disney book covers.[4]

Prominent themes in his artwork include chemtrails, anti-vaccine activism, climate change denial, Holocaust denial, as well as the promotion of GMO conspiracy theories, 9/11 conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories regarding the danger of wireless devices, and the Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory.[5] He was particularly drawn to the belief that Zionists control the media.[6]

David Dees was the subject of the short documentary Do You See What I See?.[7]

Reception

In 2017, the inclusion of one of Dees's illustrations in a German political textbook caused a controversy. The image, which depicted a Pac-Man-like character devouring Europe over the phrase "Rothschild bank", was widely described as antisemitic. The publisher of the textbook said that inclusion of the image was a "regrettable mistake" and halted printing. They also issued a replacement page for books that were already in circulation and promised to remove the image in the next edition.[8][9]

Many images created by Dees have been widely purported as antisemitic, presenting the Holocaust as fake and using common Holocaust denial dog whistles, such as "Truth does not fear investigation".[10] One of his images spreads the claim that the gas chambers at the Auschwitz concentration camp were used to kill lice rather than humans.[10]

References

  1. ^ "David Dees Obituary - Medford, OR". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  2. ^ "How a Sesame Street Illustrator Became the Truther Scene's Golden Boy". July 17, 2015. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  3. ^ Henne, B.G. (July 16, 2015). "Read This: One man's journey from Sesame Street to the heart of truther collage art". AV Club. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  4. ^ "How a Sesame Street Illustrator Became the Truther Scene's Golden Boy". July 17, 2015. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  5. ^ Seitz, Dan. "David Dees: Conspiracy Theory Meets Art, Courtesy of the Internet". Uproxx. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  6. ^ "How a Sesame Street Illustrator Became the Truther Scene's Golden Boy". July 17, 2015. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  7. ^ Davis, Ben (April 2, 2021). "How One Artist Became a Warrior for QAnon + 4 Great Art Essays Worth Reading From This March". Artnet News. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  8. ^ Axelrod, Toby (January 26, 2017). "German schoolbook publisher apologizes for anti-Semitic illustration". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  9. ^ Frohn, Philipp (January 26, 2017). "Wie es eine antisemitische Karikatur in deutsche Schulbücher geschafft hat". VICE (in German). Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "David Dees: Conspiratorial Artist | ADL". www.adl.org. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
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