Comments on: Your Turn: The Artful President

By: Enoch Root

Enoch Root — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:45:19 +0000

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.

By: cenoxo

cenoxo — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:33:02 +0000

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.

By: zatopa

zatopa — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:48:35 +0000

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?

By: zatopa

zatopa — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:44:22 +0000

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.

By: paulo

paulo — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:25:31 +0000

I dunno I see Teletubbies and it makes me wanna giggle

By: yg

yg — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:37:12 +0000

photograph them with the Kandinsky exhibit hey, there's a shot of that: http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse/3611575356/

By: yg

yg — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:57:02 +0000

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.

By: Tena

Tena — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:47:44 +0000

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

By: Paula

Paula — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:37:18 +0000

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.

By: donna

donna — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:44:29 +0000

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.