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Modern Art Takes the White House
Associated Press via YellowBrix
October 07, 2009
Washington, DC – You can’t see it, but there’s a quiet cultural revolution under way at the White House.
The Obamas are decorating their private spaces with more modern and abstract artwork than has ever hung on the White House walls. New pieces by contemporary African-American and Native American artists are on display. Bold colors, odd shapes, squiggly lines have arrived. So, too, have some obscure artifacts, such as patent models for a gear cutter and a steamboat paddlewheel, that now sit in the Oval Office.
Ed Ruscha
Works by big names from the modern art world – Jasper Johns and Mark Rothko – are rubbing shoulders with lesser-known artists such as Alma Thomas, an African-American abstract painter of the 1960s and 1970s.
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Thomas’ “Watusi (Hard Edge)” now hangs in the East Wing, where Michelle Obama has her offices. The acrylic on canvas, on loan from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, shows a jumble of geometric shapes in bright reds, blues and greens.
Glenn Ligon’s “Black Like Me No. 2,” a Hirshhorn loan now hanging in the first family’s living quarters, is a “text painting” that reproduces words from the 1961 book “Black Like Me,” a nonfiction account by a white man who disguised himself as a black man and traveled through the South.
Ligon, a black artist from Brooklyn in New York, said in an interview that the painting’s theme fits with President Barack Obama’s efforts to create a dialogue between the races.
Continue White House Slideshow
jasonmetcalf
11 days ago
106 comments
I don't think they could have had a better selection of work. Ed Ruscha- not weak choice at all. Diebenkorn! Hardly weak either. One of the best painters of the 20th century.
modartist
about 1 month ago
158 comments
I personally dont care whether they clash with whats there now " gdesign1" gettum in there and know as an abstract artist that i am happy about it :))
marcarch
about 1 month ago
18 comments
good to mix it up. very important to be American. Diebenkorn and Rothko are not weak choices in the least, geography may be relevant to the selections. patent objects are odd for sure, but why not? would be interested to know why the paddle wheel? maybe more pics are available on the white house website, if not, request it. i will. i gave the Prez a small drawing i did of him, while waiting for him to sign a book here in Phx a couple years ago. didnt sign it, ust initial. oh well. but he liked it. guess there really is no accounting for taste!
CurtMaryAnn
about 1 month ago
96 comments
Their choices, or the choices of their curator, are so clearly American. Nice to have such a varied and exciting representation of some our great artists and inventors I would love to have just one!
What will the NEXT First Family do with this collection?
studioseda
about 1 month ago
328 comments
I love the idea of embracing the modern masters whether they are well known or lesser known- The point is the artwork embraces their living /working quarters with a free personal choices of what speaks to them...
studionokrock
about 1 month ago
4 comments
It would be nice to see pics of the other works. But remember great art doth not make a great president.
fredhuntart
about 1 month ago
4 comments
To embrace the modern in such a historical residence is a wonderful way to bridge not just culture but the times.
gdesign1
about 1 month ago
20 comments
The works are very interesting, but i wonder how they clash with the historical items already filling the White House.
IsoardiArt2008
about 1 month ago
664 comments
Most interesting.I guess any art creation is regarded as Art these days..If you like it or not..It's a fact that everyone has their own personal taste ... "Such is Life"
cawobeth
about 1 month ago
8 comments
great info.....love choices by The First Family - - -
johnwaxart
about 1 month ago
678 comments
The 3-dimensional works are nice - and historic, but the paintings seem a bit weak as far as contemporary art goes. They could've made better choices. Although, I think the main focus was to simply display work from alternative "artists" rather than premium pieces of art.
modartist
about 1 month ago
158 comments
This is freaking awsome! lets shove the 1800's and the figurative paintings out of the way for at least 4 yrs and get to the 5o's and 60's abstractionist and todays as its about time!!!!!!!!!!!
klockarsdesign
about 1 month ago
3148 comments
It's past time. This is good.
valerie
about 1 month ago
1876 comments
I think it is great that they have borrowed so many works of contemporary and modern artists.