The Obama White House’s Plagiaristic, Silly Art
by Ben Shapiro**UPDATE 11/5** Obama drops painting, throws Alma Thomas under the bus.
Want to know the Obama Administration’s idea of what constitutes art? There’s no better place to look than the newly-reconstituted White House art collection. So what’s there? How about this gem:
Yes, it is boring and banal. It does look like your three-year-old’s recent construction paper cut-out from pre-school – the one she made with the rounded scissors. It’s Watusi (Hard Edge), by black painter Alma Thomas.
Now here’s Henri Matisse’s The Snail (1953).
Notice any similarities? How about now:
That’s right. It’s a direct copy of the Matisse picture rotated 90 degrees and the colors inverted. What magnificent art.
Sort of reminiscent of the Shepherd Fairey plagiaristic “art” poster for Obama, ripped off directly from an AP photo:
But let’s not assume that all Obama’s art is this bad. Let’s look at it. How about this masterpiece by Ed Ruscha, appropriately entitled “I Think I’ll…”:
Isn’t that magnificent? It certainly sums up Obama’s thinking process, which is based on considering all the options, then eating a cup of applesauce and taking a nap while waiting for mommy (read: Valerie Jarrett) to make a decision.
Or how about another Alma Thomas piece, “Sky Light,” which could more appropriately be titled “inverted ant races on your broken television set”:
Then there’s “Berkeley, No. 52,” by Richard Diebenkorn (1955), which aptly sums up how the world must have looked to Obama while attending a liberal college and doing cocaine:
And, in case we forgot that the Obama’s are black, the text of “Black Like Me” on a piece of canvas (Glenn Ligon’s “Black Like Me No. 2”):
It’s as though the Obamas decided to do a poll as to what Americans would least like to post in their living rooms, then adopted all the top choices, with special credit to black artists based on their race. No doubt, Malia and Sasha will have an entire wing of the White House dedicated to their Play-Doh sculptures. And the New York Times will praise their artistic flair.
In essence, the Obamas are elitists who think that the inscrutable is deep, and that the incompetent is profound. Sadly, President Obama’s presidency is the same as his art: something that outsiders assume has substance, even in the absence of substance.
[Ed update: first two images are now in the correct order.]
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193 Comments
I realize that art is subjective, but… wow. Has nobody said anything about the Matisse ripoff? Can you actually get away with that without breaking some sort of copyright law?
Is Obama going to use the Ruscha painting as his decision-making dartboard? Hanging that in the White House is a really bad idea.
I'll take that Churchill sculpture anyday.
I think you've got your first two images backward. The Alma Thomas piece has a blue border, and the piece with the orange border clearly has Matisse's signature on it.
Plagiarists, tax cheats, truthers and deviants; this was the hope &change the jugeared dolt in the White House was talking about.
3 years 3 months till this sick joke is over.
Those in the know have been quietly discussing the new Art decour at the White House. It is either sheer crassness, or simply poor taste, but it is telling, and certainly is a reflection.
Good call, Alice. I'll have them change it now. — Ben
[...] White House Art October 12, 2009 Posted by Cory Franklin in Uncategorized. trackback Here [...]
*ahem*
Going by Michelle Malkin's piece, the blue-bordered one is Alma Thomas', Matisse's is the orange-peach-ish bordered one, you got them flipped.
Yoo-hoo, editor who puts the pictures with the articles!
>Can you actually get away with that without breaking some sort of copyright law?
I don't have enough information to answer that. What color are you?
At least it's not a toilet.
I'm thinking that's intentional Alice! -Yet further evidence the "inscrutable" confuses! -Depressingly though, I paid for this stuff…
I actually like Duchamp's Fountain.
But yeah, the rest of that crap….Just goes to show that Art is what you can get away with.
Hi Frances,
I'm taking a break from painting-I checked out BH and there's a new post by a young guy I like for the most part-but-he's wasting time on the Obama's choice of art in the WH. Of course, you and I might disagree on "what art is", but I find this focus on a subject these people know absolutely nothing about-painful!
How was your anniversary weekend?
Hope everyone is fine,
Alvaro
The art a person chooses tells us a lot about him. It tells us how he thinks about the place in which it hangs.
Previous presidents have celebrated America in their choices. The Bushes and Reagan showed Frederick Remington, Winslow Homer, Albert Bierstadt, Childe Hassam, and others. Obama celebrates the superiority of the international elite.
When the internationalist Left insisted on modernism, their taste diverged from that of most Americans. After 80 years of hearing what's good for us, we still aren't buying it. The biggest draws at American museums are still Wyeth, Hopper, and the European Impressionists.
I think that the art that Obama likes is as deep and meaningful as he, himself, is.
Hear, hear!
Whoops, you posted it first!
Well, they tried to get the National Endowment for the Arts to create some original art for them and got stopped ……. sheesh, what do you want from these people/lawyers/IvyLeague-educated leaders?
The international elite? These are all American artists. Or are they honorary Europeans because you don't like them? I'm sure the fine art fans here believe the only worthwhile art being produced today is by Thomas Kinkade, but really, don't you have anything better to worry yourselves about? You know you don't agree with Obama on anything — why should you share taste in art?
BHers may like my take (it works for any "art"):
http://www.americanartarchives.com/what_is_illust...
Hey, if you are color blind, drunk, and maybe even crossed eye, that might look nice. They are rocking that construction paper, kindergarden look, up top.
Didn't you guys know?
If it's written it's plagerism.
If it's art, its an homage!
; )
I'm surprised the Obama's didn't select a self-portrait (yes, that is Michelle on the right):
ObamaMan and sidekick
I think Pelosi has this one ornately framed in her boudoir:
<A href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gcA0ZuKGkI8/SoIvqO_zocI/AAAAAAAADEY/6jzRhQn7e5U/s1600-h/obama+plant.jpg">Heil to the Chief
I'm surprised the Obama's didn't select a self-portrait (yes, that is Michelle on the right):
ObamaMan and sidekick
I think Pelosi has this one ornately framed in her boudoir:
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_gcA0ZuKGkI8/SoIvqO_zocI/AAAAAAAADEY/6jzRhQn7e5U/s1600-h/obama+plant.jpg">Heil to the Chief
Just wondering if Biden helped select the Thomas piece. We know how he feels about plagiarism.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michael Chavez and Michael Ozman. Michael Ozman said: Big Hollywood: The Obama White House’s Plagiaristic, Silly Art http://bit.ly/Frqs6 #BC [...]
By the way, this "art" make children's finger paintings look like Picasso's.
By the way, this "art" makes children's finger paintings look like Picasso's.
I think you're mistaken, these look like drawings from his kids on the White House refrigerator.
Hey, I recognize that other Alma Thomas piece, "Sky Light." It is the "crackle" pattern of a fluorescent light "diffuser panel" aka lens for a standard 2 x 4 foot light used with a drop ceiling. You have likely seen it in an office setting. Without knowing the actual dimensions of the "painting," I see it has the same proportions. Actually, since the panels are textured, you could make your own "masterpiece" by putting paint on one and laying the canvas on top.
The text of "Black Like Me No. 2" repeats (in all caps) "All traces of the griffin I had been were wiped from existence." The full line, which can be read <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Vv_ocJqva_kC&pg=PA252&lpg=PA252&dq=all+traces+of+the+griffin+had+been+wiped+from&source=bl&ots=1BlElzBL-5&sig=ocw8jfQnmyCi-1jmCaN6XgxLcLc&hl=en&ei=dFLTSvy6KpDelAev3LSpCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCIQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=all%20traces%20of%20the%20griffin%20had%20been%20wiped%20from&f=false">here (carefully scroll down a bit) says "John Griffin" and comes from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me">Black Like Me, a 1961 book by John Howard Griffin, where he, a white person, impersonated a black man to see what it was like.
Ah, such irony for the First Black President who is half-white, raised white, and vacationed at Martha's Vineyard. Somehow I think it is more than "just a piece of African-American art" to him.
Hey, I recognize that other Alma Thomas piece, "Sky Light." It is the "crackle" pattern of a fluorescent light "diffuser panel" aka lens for a standard 2 x 4 foot light used with a drop ceiling. You have likely seen it in an office setting. Without knowing the actual dimensions of the "painting," I see it has the same proportions. Actually, since the panels are textured, you could make your own "masterpiece" by putting paint on one and laying the canvas on top.
The text of "Black Like Me No. 2" repeats (in all caps) "All traces of the griffin I had been were wiped from existence." The full line, which can be read <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Vv_ocJqva_kC&pg=PA252&lpg=PA252&dq=all+traces+of+the+griffin+had+been+wiped+from&source=bl&ots=1BlElzBL-5&sig=ocw8jfQnmyCi-1jmCaN6XgxLcLc&hl=en&ei=dFLTSvy6KpDelAev3LSpCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCIQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=all%20traces%20of%20the%20griffin%20had%20been%20wiped%20from&f=false">here (carefully scroll down a bit) says "John Griffin" and comes from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me">Black Like Me, a 1961 book by John Howard Griffin, where he, a white person, impersonated a black man to see what it was like.
Ah, such irony for the First Black President who is half-white, raised white, and vacationed at Martha's Vineyard. Somehow I think it is more than "just a piece of African-American art" to him.
Hey, I recognize that other Alma Thomas piece, "Sky Light." It is the "crackle" pattern of a fluorescent light "diffuser panel" aka lens for a standard 2 x 4 foot light used with a drop ceiling. You have likely seen it in an office setting. Without knowing the actual dimensions of the "painting," I see it has the same proportions. Actually, since the panels are textured, you could make your own "masterpiece" by putting paint on one and laying the canvas on top.
The text of "Black Like Me No. 2" repeats (in all caps) "All traces of the griffin I had been were wiped from existence." The full line, which can be read <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=Vv_ocJqva_kC&pg=PA252&lpg=PA252&dq=all+traces+of+the+griffin+had+been+wiped+from&source=bl&ots=1BlElzBL-5&sig=ocw8jfQnmyCi-1jmCaN6XgxLcLc&hl=en&ei=dFLTSvy6KpDelAev3LSpCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CCIQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=all%20traces%20of%20the%20griffin%20had%20been%20wiped%20from&f=false">here (carefully scroll down a bit) says "John Griffin" and comes from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Like_Me">Black Like Me, a 1961 book by John Howard Griffin, where he, a white person, impersonated a black man to see what it was like.
Ah, such irony for the First Black President who is half-white, raised white, and vacationed at Martha's Vineyard. Somehow I think it is more than "just a piece of African-American art" to him.
It's just like them. Not a clue.
test
<a href="http://www.google.com?id=a+b">test
These people? Or are those people left to ponder who they are?
<a href="http://www.google.com?id=a+b">test
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I have to say, from the bottom of my heart…..
Who the hell cares what crapola is hanging on their walls??? Is it that much of a slow news day we gotta rip their poor taste in art??
What nobody ever seems to notice about the Duchamp piece is that, from what I understand, it was consciously designed to be unusable. If you hung an identical urinal on a bathroom wall, it wouldn't actually work.
The Dada movement was essentially saying, hey, listen — Art doesn't really have any practical purpose anyway unless you're trying to make propaganda, so Art doesn't really need a lot of restrictions… you can point at anything in the world and say "Hey, look — Art."
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Hey, I recognize that other Alma Thomas piece, "Sky Light." It is the "crackle" pattern of a fluorescent light "diffuser panel" aka lens for a standard 2 x 4 foot light used with a drop ceiling. You have likely seen it in an office setting. Without knowing the actual dimensions of the "painting," I see it has the same proportions. Actually, since the panels are textured, you could make your own "masterpiece" by putting paint on one and laying the canvas on top.
The text of "Black Like Me No. 2" repeats (in all caps) "All traces of the griffin I had been were wiped from existence." The full line, which can be read here (carefully scroll down a bit) says "John Griffin" and comes from Black Like Me, a 1961 book by John Howard Griffin, where he, a white person, impersonated a black man to see what it was like.
Ah, such irony for the First Black President who is half-white, raised white, and vacationed at Martha's Vineyard. Somehow I think it is more than "just a piece of African-American art" to him.
To his credit, Mr. Shapiro did not showcase the selections of what I believe are called "primitive" style paintings. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Lack of artistic talent, that is.
as toilets tend to be white, that wouldn't fit their decorative motif. on the other hand, the portrayal of a white toilet as some sort of reverse racist statement might…
"It’s a direct copy of the Matisse picture rotated 90 degrees and the colors inverted."
I am sure that in itself is meant to be a comment on the state of something or other.
I think art like this is garbage (and I am someone who works in the arts), but I wouldn't call it plagiarism because it was a clear reference to the Matisse. Ward Churchill passed of copies of art as his own, but Thomas's' piece is like a cover version of a song. It is a recasting that is in "conversation," as it were, with the Matisse work.
If this is so-called art is hanging on the White House walls, what is on the White House fridge ?
Don't you think Barry's kids could have done a better job in their art classes ?
very insightful as to the pretentiousness of the First Family
Yes, it is a slow news day and yes, we can rip on the Obamas for their taste in art.
They rip on us for our bitter clinging to religion and guns, so I think beating them up for their craptastic taste in art is more than fair.
LOL…..ok you convinced me….
I wonder in which room they have the jar of tinkle with a cross floating in it…..that's art, right??
Well, I for one think it's great that Obama is hanging an obvious piece of plagiarized art in the White House. I mean, Obama used Bill Ayers to write "Dreams of My Father", so why not just embrace the rip-off goodness?
I don't know art, but I know what I don't like. I should get my dogs to walk through paint, then across a canvass and offer it up as minority art. Only one of them is black but they are shih tsu's. The only true art in this White House is the artful lies Obama and his cult are feeding to their loyal, brainless ideologues. Now, a piece of excrement with HOPE under it, that's art. Oh wait, that picture is up there.
Right next to the Virgin Mary covered in Elephant poo.
Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to these two. Distaste is 'da bes' taste in 'da world, when it comes down to these two specimens.
My dog already does that, except its mud instead of paint, and my kitchen floor instead of canvas.
I'm not impressed by Wolfie's (my dog) artistic merit.
I liked "Berkeley 52" better when DeKooning painted it.
That's amazing! Can't break a copyright law but will be interesting to see if the art world speaks up.
I actually LIKE Ed Ruscha (and Jasper Johns, some of whose work they also picked), so I have no problem with him being in the White house. But in all fairness, The Obamas also chose a bunch of George Catlins, who painted very traditional American Western art, as well as some Degas and Winslow Homer. I know it's fun here to slam them, and modern art certainly isn't to everyone's taste, but you can't just cherry pick the stuff you don't like and claim that it represents ALL their artistic taste. Personally I'd just have asked for all the O'Keeffe's, but that's just me.
It's spelled 'dope', dummy…
Hahaha. Good line, Val.
We can cherry pick on their tastes and we will.
Really, the idea that you'd hang an obvious copy-cat piece just because the artist is black is just the sort of racial tokenism Obama said he was going against. That's why it is annoying.
That and it really does look like a five year old made it out of scrap construction paper, Elmer's Glue and an ADHD diagnosis.
Gives new meaning to the term "artsy fartsy".
I just think they don't realize they have the thing hung on the wall sideways.
You're a professional, so for you Alvaro, perhaps it's a waste of your time…for me, I find this article very interesting, plus I am learning about things I would probably not have otherwise!
PS I hope everyone is fine also–Frances et al.
October 12, 2009
Edgar Degas never cast in bronze.
All so-called bronzes attributed to Edgar Degas are 2nd- to 3rd-generation-removed posthumous forgeries with counterfeit "Degas" signatures applied.
The dead don't cast, much less sculpt.
The Hirshhorn is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors. The AAMD endorses the College Art Association's ethical guidelines on sculptural reproduction. In part, they state: "any transfer into new material unless specifically condoned by the artist is to be considered inauthentic or counterfeit and not acquired or exhibited as works of art."
The dead don't condone.
In closing, the Hirshhorn violates their own endorsed AAMD ethical guidelines on sculptural reproductions by exhibiting or displaying these -counterfeits- as works of art, much less loaning them to the people's White House.
We, as Americans, are being played as fools.
Gary Arseneau
artist, creator of original lithographs & scholar
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Wouldn't it be fair to say that the Matisse original kind of sucks, too?
Or does that just make me look unsophisticated?
I highly recommend the post by Harvey at IMAO discussing these and other White House art selections:
http://www.imao.us/index.php/2009/10/modern-art-q...
Gee, where's 'Zonk'??? Must be in the new Black Light Room.
And the winner of the 2010 Turner prize….. President Barack Obama!
(yeah yeah, it's awarded to Brits, but his father was a British subject…)
Diebenkorn was a great american artist ..but you would not know that..I'm right and you're …well…Just who you are!
I agree on the Matisse rip off..
Put an Obama bobble-head inside and call it "Flush".
A true work of art.
Here are some more suspicious White House art pieces: http://optoons.blogspot.com/2009/10/abstract-art-... (parody)
It was intended by the artist as a comment on Matisse using African art as inspiration:
A good place to begin thinking about Alma Thomas's ravishing late work might be the moment in 1964 when, close to paralysis and bedridden, the 73-year-old artist found herself staring at the hollyhock shadows she had known her entire life and calculating how to use them in her paintings. A year earlier, she had seen the late Matisse cutouts at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Matisse's work had prompted her to paint an acrylic-on-canvas version of his collage The Snail (1953), in which nearly all the original colors were reversed. Thomas named her painting Watusi (Hard Edge), after Chubby Checker's dance hit "The Watusi." As well as marrying high modernism with the popular culture of black America–then entering the American mainstream–the title she chose noted Matisse's debt to African art.
Between the bashing of abstract art , fears of communism , and anger at black people , it seems like you guys are headed back to the 50s. And now that I think about it , Glenn Beck already has a flat top haircut, hmmmmmm.
Art and color coordination is obviously not Obama's strong suit. So what is? Transparency? Bipartisanship? Economy? Healthcare? Foreign Policy? Crisis Decisions? Religion? Race Relations? Military Strategy? Oops, none of the aforementioned, I fear. Socialism! Yeah! That's it!
Shepard Fairey's plagiarism goes far beyond stealing from an AP photo:
http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Obey/index.htm
From the sound of it, he's incapable of creating ANYTHING on his own.
"….Sadly, President Obama’s presidency is the same as his art: something that outsiders assume has substance, even in the absence of substance."
Great commentary. I especially liked the last line!
What do you want to bet that you'll be seeing copies of the above "art pieces" on walls of yours and my lib friends in the near future. . .monkeys see, monkeys do. But it will take some time, since they won't realize they like this "art" until Barbara Walters, 48 hours(or the likes) or the MSM does a special on it; then watch the link to Amazon.com crash!
Angry at black people? Pfffffft.
Nobody gives a rat's behind what color that fool in the Oval Office is, if he was white as Betty White he'd still be a fool.
Uh huh , well how about these 2 comments from above :
". I should get my dogs to walk through paint, then across a canvass and offer it up as minority art. Only one of them is black but they are shih tsu's. "
"Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to these two. Distaste is 'da bes' taste in 'da world, when it comes down to these two specimens."
Do they have anything to do with Obama being black?
I know, I know, art is subjective, but this is just awful.
The thing about the Matisse is that when Matisse did it, nobody had ever thought of doing anything like that before. I mean, odd colored shapes? Why? What is it? For somebody to copy it in today's time and pass if off as art is just a con job.
The "Russia" sorry could not help myself is perfect and sums up Obama perfectly.
Cheap fakes passing themselves off as something special…just about sums it all up.
Looks like shit
Probably, but that's because the dems make EVERYTHING about him being black. We disagree, it's not because he's a naive, clueless, incompetent moron, it's because he's black and we're racist. We're done. They want to play the race card everyday…works for me, I've got a good hand and I'm goin' all in.
Amazing the verbose justifications invented to excuse refrigerator doodles.
Great link. Thanks.
I thought the choice of the text of "Black Like Me" was an interesting one, too. I learned about that book in high school some time ago, and the irony of the situation wasn't lost on me.
It's not one of his better works, no.
When Sarah Palin takes America back for Americans she will hang art by John McNaughton in The White House.
http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/artwork/view_zoom/?a...
Yes!
No!
Ha!
I'm surprised the Obama's didn't select a self-portrait (yes, that is Michelle on the right):
ObamaMan and sidekick
I think Pelosi has this one ornately framed in her boudoir:
Heil to the Chief
Heil to the Chief
I'm surprised the Obama's didn't select a family portrait (yes, that is Michelle on the right):
ObamaMan and sidekick
I think Pelosi has this one ornately framed in her boudoir:
Heil to the Chief
Amen! Reminds me of a huge canvas I saw in the new MOMA in San Francisco right after it opened. It was all white. Stark white. Nothing on it but white paint. And did I mention it was huge??!! Scratched my head and decided dim sum was much more interesting so went and had some!
Hey, I recognize that other Alma Thomas piece, "Sky Light." It is the "crackle" pattern of a fluorescent light "diffuser panel" aka lens for a standard 2 x 4 foot light used with a drop ceiling. You have likely seen it in an office setting. Without knowing the actual dimensions of the "painting," I see it has the same proportions. Actually, since the panels are textured, you could make your own "masterpiece" by putting paint on one and laying the canvas on top.
The text of "Black Like Me No. 2" repeats (in all caps) "All traces of the griffin I had been were wiped from existence." The full line, which can be read here (carefully scroll down a bit) says "John Griffin" and comes from Black Like Me, a 1961 book by John Howard Griffin, where he, a white person, impersonated a black man to see what it was like.
Ah, such irony for the First Black President who is half-white, raised white, and vacationed at Martha's Vineyard. Somehow I think it is more than "just a piece of African-American art" to him.
AS AN ART COLLECTOR, THEIR PICKS MAKE ME PUKE… IS THIS REALLY THE STUFF THAT SHOULD BE IN THE WHITEHOUSE??? THE STRAIGHT UP PLAGARISM OF MATISSE IS STUNNING, I HAD NO IDEA ANY ARTIST WHO COPIED SOMEONE ELSE COULD EVEN BE CONSIDERED, "GOOD" OR "INFLUENTIAL" IN GUESS THAT'S WHY NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD OF HER… WHAT A FRAUD, JUST LIKE THE COUPLE WHO SELECTED IT….
YOUR LAST PARAGRAPH IS DEAD ON THE MARK!!! DEAD ON, HOW WELL WRITTEN!!! LIKE THEIR ART, THEY ARE NOTHING MORE THAN EMPTY VESSELS PRETENDING TO BE PROFOUND FOR WHAT THEY ARE OUTWARDLY, NOT WHAT THEY BELEIVE ON THE INSIDE!!!!
Our tax dollars hardly working!
Can we all agree that nothing is more aggravating than listening to a self righteous liberal speak of something about which he knows nothing? The worst is when the topic of his self-indulgent bloviation is conservatism, or libertarianism, or, any issue he thinks he understands well enough to disagree with. Listen to a liberal talk about Republicans, and you'll hear all your favorite straw-man canards: they're racist, they're capitalists because they hate poor people, they're ignorant, petty, conniving, they'll do anything to kill Palestinian babies etc.
I'm a conservative, and a rather obstinate one at that. Plus, like Mr. Shapiro, I was once a voice crying out in the wilderness at a ridiculously–almost satirically–leftist, elitist university (Brown, my alma mater, was recently–and justly–ranked #1 on Esquire magazine's "Douchiest Colleges in America" list, four spots above Harvard). I want to muster all the conservative cred I've earned through years of iconoclasm to encourage Mr. Shapiro to not be that guy. That guy who spouts off about a topic totally foreign to him, in this case American art. Much of this art is dreck, but some of it is actually really fantastic, if you take the time to understand it. Richard Diebenkorn was an amazing painter, and could not have been less of an "international elite." In fact, abstract expressionism is as American as apple pie and jazz. So much so that many liberals complain that it was used by the CIA as a cultural weapon during the cold war. Diebenkorn's art was in diametric opposition to the European/Soviet socialist treacle that leftist critics couldn't get enough of during the last century (Diego Rivera, Pablo Picasso etc.) Abstract expressionism was the art of American cowboy badass individualists, and it's biggest champions were art critics who had publicly renounced the childishness of socially liberal "Message oriented art". Diebenkorn was a US Marine during WWII! and his favorite painter was Edward Hopper! I think Obama is literally pathetic. I honestly feel kind of bad for the guy because he's such an idiot and is in so, so far over his head. All that said, he made the right move hanging a Diebenkorn on the wall. It'll probably be the only thing I'll ever agree with him on, except for the fact that Kanye West is a jackass. My overall point is that we conservatives, Mr. Shapiro included, should do our best to avoid making assumptions and sweeping generalizations about stuff we are ignorant of. We end up looking like bigots, and we give the left all the ammunition they need to slander us in the press as cultural illiterates and anti-intellectuals. If we want to attract the best young minds to our cause, we have to start doing our homework before we put our feet in our mouth. If you want to learn about art from some of the finest conservative thinkers in the world, check out "The New Criterion" (It's a cultural journal, and a brilliant one at that).
I don't think it actually affects our tax dollars–it's stuff borrowed from museums, and all the presidents get to do it. After Air Force One, I think it's the only thing I really covet that presidents get.
It does affect our tax dollars.
They are printing thousand and thousand of these Obama love documents.
Obama has proven that he knows how to waste money!
Like they say. A fool and his money make a great date!
It does affect our tax dollars.
They are printing thousand and thousand of these Obama love documents.
Obama has proven that he knows how to waste money!
Like they say. A fool and his money make a great date! The bad part is the fool is the taxpayer for letting this happen.
I guess I don't follow you–the White House asks museums for existing art–the museum sends it over. What are the love documents being printed?
SO OBAMA'S NOT JUST STUPID AND DISHONEST, BUT TASTELESS, TOO!
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT?
Sorry, I am not clear.
It works like this.
Valerie Jarrett works for Obama. Valerie Jarrett is in charge of the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Culture then funded several democratic artisted throught the National Endowment of Arts to create Obama slop art.
Then the slop art is shipped to a art house for storage.
Then Obama's white house asked for the slop art to be sent to White House as real art.
Thus, your taxpayer money is used to product slop art for Obama.
They asked my mom to make some of this junk and she said no. Her art work is sold around the world. She was a very strong Hillary supporter but now hates Obama.
Wow, betcha that NEA really helped all those artists (or is that FARTISTS) with timely grants to produce these works….
Or, more correctly, those sorry rat-b@$tards at the NEA diverted our tax dollars and gave them away to shiftless, grant-writing @$$hats who came up with this garbache when forced to produce something.
Due respect, my friend, you speak from ignorance. This is EXISTING ART, much of it DECADES old. No-one had to make it special. In fact, I bet even the workmen hired to hang the stuff are already on the White House payroll. It costs you and me NOTHING but umbrage. Peace and good night.
Then why does some of the art work say Obama on it.
You must need glasses my friend, because Shepard Fairey is cropped from an AP photo.
I really hate Ed Ruscha turpentine wash style of Maybe I'll …
Yes I know he painted from 1958 to present….
Yes I know he painted the black and pink bowling ball….
No I do not speak from ignorance, but have a strong personal background in the arts.
I really hate Ed Ruscha turpentine wash style of Maybe I'll …
Yes I know he painted from 1958 to present….
Yes I know he painted the black and pink bowling ball….
No I do not speak from ignorance, but have a strong personal background in the arts.
It would appear the Barry's sense of taste is all in his mouth.
I hope your joking that you like Ed Ruscha's art.
He paints photo images.
PU!!
Catlins art work was important for documenting various indian leaders.
But that it it.
His painting skills were ok, but nothing amazing!
Catlins art work was important for documenting various indian leaders.
But that is it.
His painting skills were ok, but nothing amazing!
I like Winslow Homer landscapes. However, he is better know for his prints.
Obama should spend less time on arts and basketball and focus more on the war and economy.
The resemblance was apparently intentional, not a rip-off per se (although, still lazy artistry in my opinion):
http://books.google.com/books?id=eb5222HXmzoC&...
I like the black painters version better.
Remember when Reagan was in office and he had the works of Fredrick Remington displayed? That was awsome. Sorry, just channeled Chris Farley for a second.
Matisse was almost dead when he created that wonderful, eh…hmm… “piece.” That’s why Barry’s people were able to copy it, early Matisse, no chance. But, what do you expect from Barry’s witless legions?
Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm,
He walks on water and Duped The World,
Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm,
I got the Nobel Peace Prize,
While Pulling the Wool over Your Eyes,
Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm,
Hear My Holler,
I will cripple the dollar,
Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm,
To All my Muslim friends in The World,
Will soon be selling Hot Rocks while you all
Mumble Afghanistan Banana Stand,
Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm,
Promises, Promises, Promises,
Change has come to America,
When Will This Bad Dream Be Over?
You'll probably get called a racist by the Liberals out there for daring to point out that Alma Thomas ripped off the work of someone else in addition to criticizing Obama's taste in art. I'm sure I'll get called one too for daring to point it out.
Incredibly boring art and all in the name of being politically correct.
Once again, the Obamas prove themselves to be out of their element in their new positions.
Fairey is a new age Warhol: being in the right company at the right time and lacking talent.
Sorry, I am not clear.
It works like this.
Valerie Jarrett works for Obama. Valerie Jarrett is in charge of the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Culture then funded several democratic artisted (with no talent) throught the National Endowment of Arts to create Obama slop art.
Then the slop art is shipped to a art house for storage.
Then Obama's white house asked for the slop art to be sent to White House as real art. Most of the art work created for Obama is on the quality level of a bad tattoo. You most likely has seen very high qaulity tattoos that cost thousand of dollars. This Obama art work is very poor for all the money spent.
Thus, your taxpayer money is used to make slop art for Obama.
I will say not all of the art is Obama related. However, Valerie Jarrett has wasted millions on creating Obama slop art.
melvinwinter
Now there is some original Art!
pronounced….ARrrrr-tT.
Sorry about that. I was talking about a couple of the BH contributors.
Or perhaps you're learning them wrong, but point taken and I mean no disrespect to the readers. There obviously is not enough time to point out all that is wrong with this piece-or I would try and art is subjective, so it might be pointless. I happen to admire Ben Shapiro a lot and I understand the entertainment value, maybe I wish those who are spending that much time having fun while misinforming might spend a little time and effort promoting conservative artists. And I guess that's what gets to me: that we have tried to explain that to them and have been ignored. Also, when they completely disrespect some of the art they focus on, it becomes clear to me that they might feel that way about my work and I start to question my role here?
Very well said and yes, there is some other art in there worth mentioning that people might appreciate if they cared enough to learn.
No amount of money can buy class.
Very true.
Nicely said
On that note, why not point things out. If there is misinformation on the facts, I would think the readers in here would prefer you setting the record straight so we all can benefit. I am sure Ben would appreciate it is as well.
On the other hand if the issue is with the subjective disrespect of the artwork, then we have another issue … I didn't see that being Ben's point at all. I took it as how the Obamas are choosing art…and also how their choices seem "in your face".
Anyway, I like your posts..God bless…and would love to see more conservative artists as well.
the alma thomas painting is not plagiarism. she acknowledges she painted a version of matisse's collage. plagiarism means passing off others work as your own original ideas, which she never did.
in the future, please, do approximately 45 seconds of research (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_1_... and you wont look like an effing whiney, salty idiot.
I don't think the Fairey art is part of what was chosen for the White House, so we're not paying for it. That was my point. The other works weren't commissioned specifically by Obama, either–they're existing works by established artists he chose for the White House. That was my point.
I never had seen Ruscha's work in person until a large exhibit here in L.A. some years ago. At full size, not shrunk to a computer monitor, I found it impressive. I liked it.
I have seen several piece of his work. I find it a photo images with paint.
Then again, everyone has their own taste.
I have seen several pieces of his work. I find it a photo images with paint.
Then again, everyone has their own taste.
I understand your point.
My point is Obama is planning to spend another $50 million in his economic stimulus package for the National Endowment for the Arts. Its a waste of money
I completely apologize. I get where you're coming from now. See?? Art bring people together!!!!
I completely apologize. I get where you're coming from now. See?? Art brings people together!!!!
No problem
Have a nice afternoon!
You don't need to apologize for also being right.
Have a nice afternoon!
Nice cut-and-paste job, by the way. Was that apparent plagiarism intended as a tribute to Alma Thomas?
It's appropriate to credit the authorship of something like that.
<a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_1_…” target=”_blank”>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1248/is_1_…
My God, you're an idiot.
Read the following post, please. http://post.thing.net/node/2859
"Sort of reminiscent of the Shepherd Fairey plagiaristic 'art' poster for Obama, ripped off directly from an AP photo"
Hold on a tick. I'm with you, but I wouldn't consider painting from a photograph to be plagiaristic. I may be biased, as I don't consider photography to be high art at all. But nevermind that. The Obama AP photograph is journalism, not art. It would be better if Fairey had painted from direct observation. And copying from a famous photo is lazy, which we'd be more likely to notice if someone did a painting of the Times Square kiss on VJ Day (and no doubt someone already has), for instance. But it doesn't rise to the level of plagiarism, in my opinion.
"The thing about the Matisse is that when Matisse did it, nobody had ever thought of doing anything like that before."
For good reason.
"Read the following post, please. http://post.thing.net/node/2859"
Ah, I see. We just don't understand recontextualization. It couldn't be that we reject postmodernism and think it to be a giant sham.
Yes I copied and pasted it , I wasn't trying to claim I wrote it, i thought it an obvious quote but you're right I should have listed the author. I thought the content of the quote was interesting as it explained that this wasn't just a rip off but a commentary.The author of the above article could have found that out before he slammed the artist, but that would be way too much journalistic integrity for this site.
Thank you for that defense of Diebenkorn. We probably disagree on most political issues , but great art is eternal.
I can't stand that Shepard Fairey junk.
I have to say though, as far as "looking like bigots" , take a stroll through the comments section on this site sometime. It's full of conservatives who don't just look like bigots but sound and think like them as well. The racism on here leaps off the screen.
"It was intended by the artist as a comment on Matisse using African art as inspiration"
So what? Could I release The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" with one note changed, explaining it as a comment on how consumerism and middle-class white anxiety has hardly changed in the past 40 years, and expect not to get slapped for violating copyright law?
A rip-off is a rip-off. I'm fine with it on occasion, such as when composers stick themes from folk songs into their symphonies. So long as they admit it, and there's enough original material to make the new piece worth creating, it's not a crime. But when there is nothing original to counterbalance it, and the artist bends over backwards to justify it with aesthetic mumbo-jumbo, it offends me.
"It's appropriate to credit the authorship of something like that."
Oh, please, Mr. Nitpick. It should have been obvious that was an excerpt. So they didn't set off the paragraph or put quotes around it. Big deal. If I was her, I would definitely have posted the link. But this isn't a senior thesis. It's an internet forum. Of all the stylisitc blunders posted here daily, that's a small one to pick on.
"Between the bashing of abstract art… it seems like you guys are headed back to the 50s"
I don't see how this follows. It's not as if no one was complaining about abstract art in the 20s and 30s. if anything, by the 50s they should have been getting used to it.
Well that's a reasonable opinion,although I don't agree with it in the case of Alma Thomas , but the main point here for me is that the author wanted to bash Obama and didn't bother to to put the artwork in any context or explain the artists stated intentions. It's just sloppy hit piece journalism.
Why, exactly, "should (it) have been obvious that was an excerpt"?
[...] edge of the South Side, dozens of two-story brick buildings stretch for block after weary block. The Obama White House’s Plagiaristic, Silly Art – bighollywood.breitbart.com 10/12/2009 Want to know the Obama Administration’s idea of what [...]
[...] edge of the South Side, dozens of two-story brick buildings stretch for block after weary block. The Obama White House’s Plagiaristic, Silly Art – bighollywood.breitbart.com 10/12/2009 Want to know the Obama Administration’s idea of what [...]
To the author of this post–I am more concerned that he got some art consultant and chose modern pieces because that would be so un-Bush like of him, or as a show of some kind of snobbery than worried about the art as art–it is art of a high caliber. I have a degree in painting, I am a Christian, I voted McCain, but please–to you and many posters here, you do not know what you are talking about as far as mocking these pieces–art is a visual LANGUAGE and you have to be made aware of and develop an eye for compostion, color etc to appreciate this abstract/non objective art–to be able to judge whether it has merit or not as art in the context of art history.
Nice try, but your wrong again.
Valerie Jarrett works for Obama. Valerie Jarrett is in charge of the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Culture then funded several democratic artisted (with no talent) throught the National Endowment of Arts to create Obama slop art.
Then the slop art is shipped to a art house for storage.
Then Obama's white house asked for the slop art to be sent to White House as real art. Most of the art work created for Obama is on the quality level of a bad tattoo.
Thus, your taxpayer money is used to make slop art for Obama.
I will say 85% of the real art shipped to the whitehouse is mixed with 15% of the Obama trash art. So were both right. If that makes you feel any better.
LOOK AT THE DATES OF THE ART CITED IN THE ABOVE ARTICLE!! All were created decades before Obama was elected, and Alma Johnson DIED in 1978! Therefore, the art chosen by the White house, as cited _by the above article_, (and again, the Fairey piece was created before Obama became president as well, and was NOT part of the White House art chosen), could NOT have been specifically commissioned by/created for Obama!! That's all I'm trying to say!! This is turning into "Who's on first!" ;-D
I believe this is the same genius who, on John Updike's death, wrote a long post insisting Updike wasnt' really good, although he hadn't actually read much of his work.
Maybe the next piece of "art" will be a "portrait" of that woman with the huge jaw and big mouth, who seems to need a belt regardless of what she wears, and wears them up under her almost flat boobs!!!!
Obviously they should've polled middle America first and then adorned their walls with whatever middlebrow crap your average American is even able to name. Because Van Gogh's sunflowers are like the pinnacle of good taste.
goes to show,money can't buy class
Alvaro , unless you are a racist , which I don't think you are , you might want to write for a different website ,as this one and biggovernment are full of racist comments which I have never seen anyone other than myself object to. Comments about sending the blacks back to Africa, too much "negritude" in our culture, etc.
i like them. i may make one for myself.
of course when i hang it i will rotate it like any self-respecting artist should.
u have friends?
[...] Matisse’s “The Snail” rotated 90 degrees – see my piece, and the paintings side by side here. According to Semonti Stephens, Michelle Obama’s deputy press secretary, the painting was moved [...]
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."
Uh, with all due respect, as a conservative and an artist, some of these paintings are masterpieces. To the trained eye, there is a vast difference between good abstract art and bad abstract art. Attacking abstract art as child-like without understanding it is like looking at a complex math problem and saying, "Ha! This idiot doesn't know how to add." Yes, there is truly some junk out there, no doubt, but when people respond like they are here, they just give credence to the lefties who think we're all a bunch of unsophisticated hicks who only appreciate Norman Rockwell paintings.
BTW, I'm not defending the Obama's taste, several of these paintings are crap paintings from good artists.
I think it's both. Remember the secret service agent who told the president that he felt uncomfortable having to constantly hear the pres and the first linebacker (Meechelle) constantly making disparaging remarks about certain portions of the electorate, so he was removed from the detail?
Also, Michelle has for the most part terrible taste in clothes and so do her 23 (or is it 27) handmaidens. She does not know what flatters her body.
And just as talentless. Except for the poster, but it is plagiarism.
You could definitely do more with a toilet.
It proves that great taste can't even be purchased…I see crap masquerading as high art here.
I'll stick with my Dogs Playing Poker.
I agree. If he were a lake I couldn't get my feet wet.
I need to change my party affiliation (to Communist) draw some garbage like that and go get my millions in NEA grants.
Those art pieces are relatively famous pieces by important American artists. Look any of them up and inform yourselves about them and you will see that they are not some part of a liberal agenda, but have been well known for decades. Just because you do no know or do not care about art does not make it worthwhile to assume that you do in an effort to further separate yourself from the president. Just say you don't like the president. It's fine. But leave the art out of it or inform yourself.
Artists are their own worst enemies. I worked as a registrar at a university Art Gallery for several years and saw so much of this kind of crap that it'd make your head spin. Most of those people were nice, congenial and pleasant to be around, but their view of the world is so myopic and silly that they end up doing and saying things that my 9 year old can get away with.
HAHAHAHA…………….I liked that first *Heil to the Chief*, "I've Changed"…………………….I printed that one right up.
Okay…where IS the snail in that picture, anyway?
Now you're just making things up.
I find it interesting that you don't think an American can have an "international" affiliation. Why is it that only European counts for "international". Time to refresh your memory of "The Internationale". I believe it is sung at all SEIU meetings… but i could be wrong on that. rotflol
Did our taxpayer money pay for any of this crap ?
Is it a coincidence that the First Family would choose an artist who's ripped off art looks like a Cosby Show sweater?
Focus, people. ISSUES. A person's taste in art is their own, and cannot be judged. Me, I hate the Mona Lisa. Yup, you heard it, I can't stand it. Would I criticize someone for hanging it in their house? Would I call it banal and stupid? No. And as for the "special credit to black artists," umm…I think that I see more white artists' names here than otherwise. If I hang a work by Gaugin in my house, is anyone really going to think that I am paying homage because he is white? There are plenty of valid reasons to criticize Obama . Tripe like this detracts from the credibility of those arguments. I'm disappointed in my fellow conservatives for manifesting the silly, judgmental, racist, trivial image that most liberals have of us. You are the reason that we are a joke to so many young, influential people. Shame on you.
Does Obama still do cocaine?
Did Obama know the Muslim killer at Ft Hood Tx?
Yep. The Churchill sculpture reminds the viewer of a man of strength and resolve (except that he was white, and that's unacceptable and racist). Whereas, the ((ahem)) "art" that 0bam-uh chose reminds the viewer (hisself) of weakness, and wishy-washiness. Which fits the 0bam-uh legacy to a "T." (oops! I said "T". Which of course, reminds one of "MR. T." And "MR. T. was BLACK! And therefore, my latent racism just came to the surface again!)
"Yes We Can! Yes We .. well .. maybe .. he can't. Or won't. Or sumpin' .."
Well then .. you probably WON'T be too happy with this month's issue of "GLAMOUR" magazine, which has the frumpy Michelle all "dolled up" for yet another fawning review of her .. ((vomit in my mouth, a little)) .. "beauty" and "high classiness."
If I see ONE MORE magazine cover with either of these TWO LOSERS, I'm going to LOSE IT!
[...] Obama by Ben Shapiro Yesterday, the White House announced that it was removing Alma Thomas’ plagiaristic piece “Watusi (Hard Edge)” from its walls. The White House announced that the painting was moved [...]
Hi Tublecane, Copying a photographer's photograph is plagiarism. Stealing is stealing, regardless of where you hold photography on the scale of what is art vs what isn't art. Whether you copy it as a photograph or as a painting, it is in fact stealing the work of another artist, and potentially stealing income the photographer would have earned from their own work. It cannot be considered art from the person that copied it, since it is not their original idea. The person that stole it cannot be considered an artist, just a thief, since they stole the content anyway. Just reconsider from the photographer's point of view. How could it possibly not be called stealing and plagiarism?
A printed article which illustrates the "presidency" in such a manner is truly refreshing. Anyone who recalls the story of the "emperors new clothes" can certainly zero in on this administration and its full-force brainwashing machine. This country is certainly and obviously under attack; all traditional values, including art are being vaporized to allow the ushering in of the "New (commie) Deal". The people with brains see the naked president all others are blind.
Thanks for the link – I really enjoyed the article, nolotrippen, something I'd otherwise not have known about.
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