June 9, 2009
Your Turn: The Artful President
The best analysis of this image on the White House Flickr stream, if you can call it that, was “man in a bubble.”
Doesn’t this photo, taken of the Obama family at the Pompidou Museum (and currently sitting atop the Flickr site), though, have a good deal to say about the Administration’s perception/projection of itself as modern, curious, aesthetic, intellectual, contemplative, familial and, yes, visual?
(image: Pete Souza/White House. Paris. June 6, 2006. WH Flickr stream)
18 Comments Leave a comment
Victor F said:
the narrow slice of the men in the background gives the viewer an interesting option. A close, culturally-minded family, “or” (backwards), the same white men in suits who dominate politics faking the Thinker pose.
I wonder if those fellas back there are SS or museum patrons?
Another read I have on it is, the sculpture on the left looks like a face, watching the Obamas framed by a super mod TV with rabbit ears on the right, who are also watching what looks like a TV. The composition is whimsical and curious and to me, is a reflection of the publics’ curiosity with the First Family
ggb said:
There is one thing that gives me great pleasure (and some envy) when viewing photos of the president and his family – he TOUCHES them! After 19 years of marriage, this man still wears his heart on his sleeve. I can’t recall ever seeing Bush touch his wife or family. What a contrast. Forget their surroundings, just revel in their body language and comfort in their own skins – what amazing role models.
acm said:
can you imagine Bush looking at abstract art? (other than smacking a Calder and pointing with a frat-boy grin.)
I don’t know whether it’s a conscious plan, but it definitely does give me a feeling that our President is unashamedly cultured and intellectual, as well as exposing his kids to more than politicians when they travel…
elfpix said:
How could any decent photographer pass up such an opportunity to frame them inside the circle of the sculpture in the foreground! It’s just good composition, not political commentary.
Sorry, I don’t buy it any further than that.
shannza said:
The art in the foreground, that frames the family, makes it look like someone drew alien antennae over their heads. I think the white background reinforces the extraterrestrial feeling, as if they are on a spaceship. Their familiar and friendly body language is in stark contrast to the rest of the photo.
Anonymous said:
“Doesn’t this photo, taken of the Obama family at the Pompidou Museum (and currently sitting atop the Flickr site), though, have a good deal to say about the Administration’s perception/projection of itself as modern, curious, aesthetic, intellectual, contemplative, familial and, yes, visual?” < --- I definitely agree!
This administration is so modern and really knows how to reach out to the public. I absolutely love the behind-the-scenes looks we can get, like the Brian Williams special, blogs, apps (I especially love the White House Brief app, you can get it at http://www.iheartradio.com ), etc. Absolutely amazing.
Gasho said:
I also got the martian antenae thing, but I see it as playful.
I like how the clothing colors of the family match the art in the room. It really puts them right in the picture. I don’t know how he’s finding two seconds to visit a museum, though.. this guy must never sleep.
Tena said:
I can’t say how much this means to me – people who care about art are better people, IMO, than those who don’t.
Can anyone imagine Commander CooCoo Bananas at a museum looking at art? I can’t.
donna said:
Fun for me to see since we were just there a week ago — thank goodness before the Obamas toured Paris!
Might have been more interesting to photograph them with the Kandinsky exhibit, which is very political, though.
Paula said:
Nice. I don’t see this as being especially propaganda-laden for idea of a “cosmopolitan” president/cy. It seems, indeed, a whimsical take on the Obamas’ repeated mantra of trying maintain normal family life in the midst of this very high profile bubble, as signified by the hovering presence of Secret Service on the left. But the fact that they are behind the wall and seemingly left out of this family circle is an indication that the family unit is, so far, pretty successfully reaching that balance.
That Souza and the PR team choose a museum photo for this message, I guess, IS the part where their ideas of where communal, familial and personal moments of value can be found is telling: in the city, in complexity, in the avant-garde, in forms of expression existing for itself first rather than for some other use.
Tena said:
This family so obviously is close and in touch and affectionate and real that I can’t get enough of them. We’ve had so many artificial presidential “families” really – marriages like McCain’s – just fronting for politics; people who acted like the Bushes – weird. Laura Bush is downright spooky looking to me.
I want one of those Michele Obama hugs so much! LOL
yg said:
the obamas are also updating the white house collection:
http://newsgrist.typepad.com/underbelly/2009/05/the-obamas-sending-ripples-through-the-art-world.html
such a contrast to reactionaries who hate modern art.
yg said:
photograph them with the Kandinsky exhibit
hey, there’s a shot of that:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/3611575356/
paulo said:
I dunno I see Teletubbies and it makes me wanna giggle
zatopa said:
Of course, it’s an irresistible framing device! But framing devices are everywhere; that’s not the only reason this works. The resulting image is cute, cohesive, very very modern, stylish — it rolls the first family up in a tumble of viewing frames, they’re always on even when they’re not looking, and the fellows in the doorway to the left create an angled-mirror image that suggests that looking is part of taking care of business.
zatopa said:
Yes, that was great news — it will be even more interesting when someone besides the WSJ starts paying some attention — that article and especially the sidebar on that page in the paper were riddled with errors and misunderstandings about the artists they covered. What happened to all the art writers, now that they’ve been downsized out of the newspapers? Where are they all working now?
cenoxo said:
What not to wear, ma belle? But of course! White sweater over a zebra top and black pants.
From this particular POV, Calder’s shadow-thrower appears to be making a fashionista statement.
Enoch Root said:
This image makes me think of the 1967 film ‘The President’s Analyst.’
“That’s why you and not me.”
I’m glad it only took 40 years for the Presidency to catch up with James Coburn.