{"id":14454,"date":"2018-02-16T06:09:42","date_gmt":"2018-02-16T06:09:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=14454"},"modified":"2020-05-27T06:10:30","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T06:10:30","slug":"obama-portraits-break-new-ground-artistically-culturally-uw-expert-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/obama-portraits-break-new-ground-artistically-culturally-uw-expert-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama portraits break new ground artistically and culturally, UW expert says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Portrait of Barack Obama, by Kehinde Wiley COURTESY OF NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the day Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald were announced as the artists charged with painting former President Barack Obama and First lady Michelle Obama, Leslie Smith III waited in suspense for the reveal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was both surprised and amazed with the finished paintings,\u201d says Smith, an associate\u00a0professor\u00a0of painting and drawing at the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison. \u201cThey both undoubtedly exhibit the nuances of each artists\u2019 current studio practices while remaining sensitive to specific archetypal characteristics of both President Obama and Michelle Obama.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The former first couple\u2019s official portraits were recently unveiled at the Smithsonian\u2019s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. While other presidential portraits have been more straight-forward, the portraits of the Obamas have drawn attention for their much less conventional style.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the modesty of Wiley\u2019s painting of Obama that I enjoy. It exhibits a different and timely representation of Black masculinity. His painting of Obama includes subtle signifiers of his past, including specific flowers from Kenya, Hawaii and Chicago,\u201d Smith says. \u201cI enjoy that the symbolism is not didactic or overwhelming. I am most intrigued by Wiley\u2019s choice to obscure the ground Obama\u2019s feet are planted on. Confusing the placement of the horizon-line flattens the foreground of the painting, making it appears as if it could be perceived as background or foreground. In effect giving Obama a majestic presence. As if he were levitating in the moment captured by Wiley\u2019s painting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sherald\u2019s painting of Michelle Obama shows her in a flowing, patterned dress with a halter neckline, with a thoughtful expression on her face and chin resting on her hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe composition is monolithic. Michelle sits amongst a clear blue sky resembling the fortitude of Washington D.C.\u2019s most historic monuments. Perhaps signifying an ideal in response to the overlooked roles of Black feminine identities in America\u2019s history,\u201d Smith says.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Michelle Obama portrait, by Amy Sherald COURTESY OF NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wiley and Sherald are the first African-American artists to have been commissioned to create official portraits of a President and First Lady, both of whom chose the artists. The choice of artists is something that reflects the outward embrace of art and culture by the Obamas and speaks to their legacy of inclusion and equity, Smith says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCommissioning Wiley and Sherald in this capacity reflects the Obamas\u2019 intentions to bridge Americas cultural divide in as many ways as possible for future generations. Both artists are now historicized as being the first, of hopefully many, artists-of-color to be considered in this regard,\u201d Smith says. \u201cDue to who they are as artists and people these paintings are political. It\u2019s hard not to focus on this when understanding why these paintings and their subjects are significant in a broader contemporary dialogue. The context of our National state of being is intrinsically connected to the role of artists. I think both artists excelled at navigating that terrain.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Leslie Smith III<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The National Portrait Gallery was authorized and founded by Congress in 1962 with the mission to acquire and display portraits of \u201cmen and women who have made significant contributions to the history, development, and culture of the people of the United States.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years the collections, which were initially restricted to paintings, prints, drawings, and engravings, have grown to over 23,000 items in all media, from daguerreotypes to digital. In the late 1990s, the Portrait Gallery began commissioning portraits of presidents, beginning with George H. W. Bush.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith sees these latest portraits as something his students can learn from.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese are two paintings that evoke dialogue and communicate to a myriad of people with vastly different experiences,\u201d Smith says. \u201cI want students to understand the significances of crafting an art object as being equally important to the choice of material they choose to use.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While it\u2019s impossible to know how these paintings will influence artists in various stages of their careers, Smith says, it will impact aspiring artists and those looking to museums to highlight the artistic contributions to society by minority and historically disenfranchised communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The unconventional nature of the portraits has drawn criticism from some, but that\u2019s the same reason others, like Smith, are applauding.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLike all great art, it offers a time and a place to pause, be challenged and reflect on how you engage the world in hopes of expanding your understanding of yourself and those around you,\u201d Smith says. \u201cThey are a shining example of how the arts and humanities are essential conduits for presenting positive opportunities for shared experiences that foster cultural growth and understanding. In a time where the arts and humanities seem to be taken for granted, I hope the interests around these paintings and these artists help us find ways to continue supporting the arts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the day Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald were announced as the artists charged with painting former President Barack Obama and First lady Michelle Obama, Leslie Smith III waited in suspense for the reveal. \u201cI was both surprised and amazed with the finished paintings,\u201d says Smith, an associate\u00a0professor\u00a0of painting and drawing at the University of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","category-political-science"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500-205x300.jpg",205,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",334,490,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",246,360,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",44,65,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",341,500,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",65,96,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/single_barack-341x500.jpg",150,220,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Amrita Tuladhar"]},"category_info":"Other<\/a> Political Science<\/a>","tag_info":"Political Science","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}