Blair’s Retirement Hobby

Bliar in today: “Whatever view people take of my decisions, I think there is only way view to take of them: they are the bravest and the best”
So thought the others, who have made decisions that resulted in crimes against humanity!
It looks like he won’t retire, but continue to prove that his decisions are the bravest and the best! Bliar has definitely more poodle like future in front of him! As the envoy for the Quartet he will dance to the tune!

Adam and Eve emerged fled from the garden in shame. But also self aware and free. As my minister used to say “from that moment on we were on our own in this word.”
But If this is saying that Blair leaves in shame, is it also saying that he has learned something? If so… what?
The by line at the guardian reads: “Controversial artwork showing Blairs naked”
Is the main controversy the nudity? I hope not. It would seem it should be the political statement. Are the Brits like us Americans when it comes to nudity? Are they like us when it comes to reverence for “leaders”?
I enjoy the ghosting of the war figures, I wonder is the war still unreal to us, even on “earth” ?

At last, a showing of art that has meaning, and in the form of the most basic human visual expression: drawing. As an artist, I can only applaude the British for being brave enough to criticize their leaders. It would be nice (HA!) if the NYT placed such a work by an American artist on its front page.

what a powerful artwork, BAGman; another fine chat & chew / fun tea you do brew.
Madame Susan has touched upon the crux of it, imho: shame ?
ref : “Adam and Eve[, expelled,] emerged from the Garden in shame. But also self aware [of their nakedness being]…”
in my humble opinion => There is no shame, without self-awareness.
“ : The cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict describes shame as a violation of cultural or social values, while feelings of guilt arise from violations of internal values.
: It is possible to feel ashamed of thought or behavior that no one knows about as well as feeling guilty about actions that gain the approval of others.
: However, in Facing Shame, therapists Fossum and Mason state: ‘While guilt is a painful feeling of regret and responsibility for one’s actions, shame is a painful feeling about oneself as a person.’ ”
The naked, emerging couple are not “becoming” out in shame… imho, this is either the Fatal Flaw or delicious paradox of the artwork. More powerful than most we yanks might imagine because “shaming” is so prevalent in British society (death by manners, they say; whereas,in Scandinavia ~ one would be shunned, not shamed).
No, what the Prime Minister is being punished for here, here stripped of all the Vêtements of his office ~ is his shameless-ness! imho, nothing could be more damning in British society. What i see here, mes amis ~ is something more akin to The Emperor Has No Clothes; and he, himself alone, does not see it = he, himself.

This is huge. Literally large, which is great, but also a huge statement and a huge relief.
I was wondering when we’d see the horror of the current attrocities start showing up in the art world. I know there have been a few songs and lots of internet images – but this has the feel of “real art” that will define an age. Especially being a tryptich – somehow that enshrines the work further.
If this is the Blair judgement – can you even imagine what Bush has waiting for him one the same kind of inspiration strikes an American artist??
I’ve got some wicked images in my mind – maybe it’s time to pull out some brushes !!!

Additional thoughts about the drawing: Hell (the earthly kind) awaits Adam and Eve as they are flung from Paradise, the Hell that Blair helped to bring about with support of the war(s) of Bush.

The Blairs being thrown out (of Eden, no pun) into…what? To face the shame of what they hath wrought? The crimes on one side, the bodies, death and destruction on the other. The shame is less of self-knowledge but seeing the horrors of what their inattention to the suffering of others has wrought. Or is the artist saying that only by being forced to see, to wander among, the horrors Blair has caused (at the beckoning of the devil? Bush) can he be made to feel the shame? M.Gonzo struck the key in the British abhorrence of being shamed. Bravo!
Could it happen here? Hardly, we have more prudish censorship laws. Note that in the drawing, Mrs. Blair’s right nipple is exposed. That could lead to very heavy fines and perhaps, even imprisonment, were such exposure about Laura’s nipple. At least for the artist. And can you imagine the faux outrage by coultergeist about that? But of course, it would be the top-rated download on YouTube for a week.

I guess what I’m trying to figure out is, how long does Blair get to keep his new job? Would it be naive to assume the answer is “only to the end of 2008″? I mean, after all, his job is “international envoy to the middle east”, but he himself is a symbol of a mode of international policy in the middle east that seems highly unlikely to outlive the current American administration.
It’s weird because in his new role as “envoy”, he seems to be more a representative of the United States than of Britain.

It’s weird because in his new role as “envoy”, he seems to be more a representative of the United States than of Britain.
Posted by: mcc |
But mcc, hasn’t this been the case right the way along? There really isn’t anything “new” in his new position, is there?