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Obama’s Chair
A professor once told me that the secret of truly great visual art is an element of humor that intentionally invites the viewer to smile with the artist. I’d say Michael P. Ramirez achieved that today:
The first lady’s face looks familiar…
George W. Bush portrait is also sans tie. I wouldn’t read too much in to that.
What part of conventional power and privilege has Obama been excluded from? He seems to live among the benefits of tremendous power and privilege.
He shows his true colors by flipping the tables on racism and bigotry, rather than shutting the door on same.
When chowderheads gain political power.
@julespa
I just wanted to note I agree, that was Obama speaking about power and priviledge, and gives an indication why he chose his artist (for people who didn’t go to the article). The article focus was on the severed heads, but definitely we are being treated to a “message artist” who pushes to imply something over just MERELY giving us a piece of aesthetic work for the ages, and naturally the aesthetics suffer. He WANTS us to get thrown into the message instead. He toned the gore down in the leafy chair piece (a slight change from his signature wallpaper backgrounds), but I see it in the earlier focus on beheadings themes and again, feel insulted. This nation doesn’t deserve 2 things … the choice of an artist who thinks we do, or a slam by a former president who endorses that philosophy, and implies by his choice, that he shares it.
“19th Century Cabin Boy” is the title I’d give that painting.
Now I’m picturing Obama holding the severed head of McCain in one hand and Romney in the other…
Well, learned something else about the portraits to share here. The Michelle one I almost wanted to speculate had a gown with suggestive “world flag banners” in some globalist meaning, then read that no…the patterns were supposed to suggest a more American source: quilting.
But get this. Not the portrait artist, but the gown designer chosen, could have political significance, one can hope will be lost to history:
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/02/13/michelle-obama-portrait-message-dress-216971
(For those too busy to read, one who has used her fashion designs to be ardently anti-Trump, who we all know has polarized the country all by himself).