... Mickalene Thomas would transform the cool professor into a funkafied, stone cold, groovy cat reclining on a chaise lounge in the oval office, the walls doused in psychedelic patterns and sparkles. Though Thomas most often employs her powers of bringing her subjects’ sexiness to the surface with women, she might be talked into doing the same with the former president, turning him into the dancer he sometimes revealed himself to be: giving a little shoulder shimmy and a two-step, gray hair rendered in glitter like an astral field....IN THE COMMENTS: David Begley comes at the idea of perfection from a different direction: Who should paint Obama: George W. Bush!
July 4, 2017
"In a perfect world, who would be the artist that captures the likeness of Obama for his official portrait?"
Some interesting ideas via Seph Rodney at Hyperallergic. For example:
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45 comments:
In a perfect world I wouldn't have just read this post so early in the AM.
Start with this picture
Oh, sorry, I didn't realize we were doing hagiography, I thought we were trying to capture his soul, I might have gone with him throwing out the first pitch at some ball game like a girl in mom jeans though.
Picasso.
Just about any courtroom artist I imagine. I'm especially fond of the street artist that does caricatures at Venice Beach.
Caricatures take true talent.
Is it art? I don't know. Was Obama president? Looking back it's difficult to tell.
Margaret Keane, the woman famous for the Big Eyes paintings of waifs who need adoring.
Either Keane or Kehinde Wiley, an African-American artist who paints black people in faux-classic, faux-heroic poses as imperious lords and ladies.
Pity that Robert Mapplethorpe is dead. And Diane Arbus.
Oh. Living artists.
I would have chosen Magritte.
Based on the purple prose at the link, the artist she's really looking for is Jack Kirby.
Obama punching Hitler would be a good one.
George W. Bush. He has a new book out.
From the article, A Dutch artist, Edwin van den Dikkenberg, who has made that portrait in oil, has skillfully apprehended Obama’s combination of scholarly aloofness, confidence, and openness to being charmed.
While the lionization goes on for another 6 paragraphs, I do think this captures something about the man, especially that last phrase. The openness to being charmed was what made him so successful in light entertainment formats -- picking an NCAA basketball bracket, for instance. There is a reason he always remained more popular than the people who ran against and more popular than the other members of his own party.
Why do they call him a professor? He wasn't and isn't.
@David Begley -- Perfect.
And Bush would do a good job. He is skillful and intuitive.
@Sydney -- He's a lower-case professor.
Sabo
The person who did those big-eyed clown paintings....Keene
He likely believes he would do the best job of all, so I would anticipate a self portrait.
I nominate whoever did this:
Jimi Hendrix Bold as Love
If I could draw, I know how I would draw a caricature of Obama, think of a donkey jack rather than a "genteel" metrosexual. Think of a big donkey dick with big donkey ears.
http://animals.mom.me/donkey-jacks-always-dangerous-5226.html
And remember this.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3527111/Naked-Donald-Trump-coming-London-Controversial-painting-capital-artist-receives-death-threats-billionaire-s-supporters-U-S.html
Blogger Eleanor said...
Sabo
7/4/17, 7:41
Yep, Sabo is the man.
Bush would make him too realistic.
I prefer the "Rugged masculinity gone wild" type.
The only proper portrait of O would be a self-portrait.
Title: "I/me."
He's a better painter than his painters.
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/pics/you_should_be_thanking_me.jpg
Portrait already finished.
I've seen Bush's new book of paintings and his style is interesting. If you buy the book, please do so through the Althouse portal. George's cut goes to wounded warriors.
(1) I thought we already had the official portrait with the Hope and Change propaganda poster.
(2) I am by no means knowledgeable about modern art, but I was thinking someone of the style of Mark Rothko or Robert Rauschenberg with his White Paintings. A completely blank canvas, except maybe for a small dot somewhere on the far left.
Show him building The Intercontinental Railway.
Obama was a kale driving man.
In order to capture the soul of the ex-president you need to get him in action:
Obama and the Queen!
Obama at a funeral!
MOM JEANS!
Obama's most classy pose #1
Maybe picture of him inflating everyone's tires and lowering the sea level's?
When was Obama cool?
Just find somebody who is better at realism than impressionism.
Scott Adams
The Boyd painting is pretty good, looks like a student of the great teacher Richard Schmid. It captures Obama's arrogant smugness to a tea.
Obozo sure got into you peoples safe spaces inside your fragile minds. No wonder you relish the left's overerection to everything Dronald... you crabs love to pull each other back down into the pot.
Jackson Pollack
". you crabs love to pull each other back down into the pot."
Howard, can we expect that DD 214 with your service period by tomorrow ?
Us chickenhawks are getting impatient.
Shepard Fairy's image wasn't good enough? Or is it just copyrighted and they can't access it?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_%22Hope%22_poster
Aside: On one of my past trips Off The Grid, enjoyed spending a bit of time with Churchill's essay on painting. Good, Old-School political sorts have Amazing visual and language recall. I wouldn't call Churchill's hobby a "violon d'ingres," but he was more than Competent. George W Bush (didn't vote for him the first time, but went Absolutely, Full-Bore for him for the second term ... keep in mind, this is in Eastern Massachusetts) isn't to the level of Ingres on the violin, or Pasteur in terms of landscapes, but he is getting there.
Bought the book, how could I not.
Bob Ross. He specialized in pictures of impossibly idealized and therefore meretricious images.
Jackson Pollock
Oops, see I was beaten to it. I guess it is pretty obvious to some...
Jackson Pollock paints "Obama Crossing the Delaware"
http://www.bertc.com/subfour/g128/pollock.htm
George Bush only paints people who served their country.
Howard, this s a thread about Obama. We're not supposed to talk about Obama in a thread about Obama? The professor is supposed to get zero comments here?
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