Prez and Lady Pix. The art world, and possibly America, is weighing in on the recently unveiled portraits of Barak Obama and Michelle at the National Portrait Gallery. I cannot let this go by without acknowledgment and a comment or two. However, most critiques have been more thought provoking than anything I would say. ArtistsNetwork, NPR and the Los Angeles Times helped me understand that these portraits are going into the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian, not the White House. The LA Times article interprets the symbolism and social context of the paintings. ArtistsNetwork shows another portrait by each of the artists, locking these new official portraits into established artistic styles. The New Yorker extends this discussion and analyzes how Barak’s portrait portrays his particular leadership and presidency. According to her painter, Michelle’s portrait goes beyond portraying a particular Black celebrity. It depicts a successful person.
Two artist friends expressed their views of the portraits. I found their comments on Facebook and, with their permission, I added them to the conversation. Their thoughts help us to look at the portraits with an artist’s eye and a citizen’s heart.
Well I would dare comment on this. So there is a definite uniqueness or creative idea behind these two portraits, esp. Barack's. But I'm more interested in the negative shapes than the actual figures. Obama floating in a hedge and seemingly unaware is weird, but memorable. And it is definitely casual and different. Michelle's is washed out and boring, and looks nothing like her, but the composition is fine. But neither portrait, esp Barack's, is Presidential.
Aside from all that, the painting skills and knowledge of the human form from both painters is amateur at best. What about the 6th finger on Barack's left hand?! And for Michelle, at least get a good likeness! Show the viewer some skills in everything a true painter knows. Why didn't they choose an artist from the Portrait Society of America? But here we all are talking about the paintings, which makes them memorable and is likely what the Obamas wanted. In time, these paintings will seem even more ridiculous.
OMGoodnes! Couldn't they give her a nicely lighted face without a sneer? And shouldn't the face be the focal point? My eye goes right to the clumsy white shapes under her hand. And that's not all...
Way too much going on in that face in my opinion. I can hear my teacher/mentor yelling from his grave, "Less is more! Simplify! Are those forms or are they cuts, dents and bruises?"
The shape under her hand - I know there is a finger back there but the way it's modeled (over-modeled) it looks like there is a mouth at the base of her neck.
As a traditional figurative/portrait painter I clearly understand the struggle with hands and faces - especially mouths and expressions. But there are artists who can do whatever style the client wants but who also understand the forms/structure of the face and hands. And can get a terrific likeness. After all, it IS supposed to be a portrait, not just a figurative piece.
It takes a huge amount of study/practice/dedication and to me it appears these artists have not done their homework. (In my humble opinion ) It's a shame because, whatever you think of the Obamas, they made it to the White House and deserve well-executed, beautiful portraits.
A lot of opinions! But I think the Obamas were pleased. If I were commissioned to paint the former President’s portrait, he would not be pleased. I would most likely paint a shadow on his face, because I like dramatic lighting. But I strongly doubt that Mr. Obama would want that. It doesn’t take a Jungian to know that one could mistakenly interpret an area of shady, cool colors as the dark side of his personality and, perhaps, his legacy. However, I am confident that I could correctly calculate his manual digits, although they might appear arthritic. Those hands might not portray an image of fitness and could be construed as his being an unfit President. And those ears…I would love to paint those ears. Perhaps, he would concede on this issue and regard this strong feature as listening to the people. Such a tough job to paint the Prez and Lady. So glad they didn't ask me.
