Title of Artwork: “Portrait of Barack Obama”
Artwork by Kehinde Wiley
Year Created 2017
Summary of Portrait of Barack Obama
President Barack Obama chose Wiley to paint his official picture for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s America’s Presidents exhibition, which opened in October 2017. On the 12th of February, 2018, the artwork was revealed. A wooden chair holding Obama seems to be floating in a sea of brilliant greenery, with chrysanthemums, jasmine, and African blue lilies all around it. With his shirt collar undone and no tie, Obama seems to be dressed for business in a dark blue suit. As a result, his elbows are resting on his knees while his arms are folded. The ring on his left ring finger is his wedding band. He fixes his gaze squarely on the audience.
All About Portrait of Barack Obama
Wiley and Amy Sherald, who painted Michelle Obama’s official picture for the National Portrait Gallery, are the first black artists to do so. As president, Barack and his wife Michelle put a strong emphasis on showcasing and promoting modern and contemporary black art, such as Glenn Ligon’s and Alma Thomas’s and William H. Johnson’s paintings that adorn the White House walls. There were twenty painters whose portfolios were submitted for consideration when it came time for the Obamas to choose the artist who would finish their portraits. “What I was always struck by when I saw his portraits was the degree to which they challenged our ideas of power and privilege.” Barack Obama has said about Wiley’s art. Nevertheless, Obama requested that Wiley “ease up” a notch on the opulent, god-like aspect that permeates much of his work. He makes the following statement: “For some reason, you made me feel like Napoleon, so I explained that I already had enough political issues to deal with. We need to down the intensity just a little. And he went ahead and did it.” In addition, Obama states, “Kehinde’s artistic integrity would not allow him to comply with my request for fewer grey hairs, no matter how much I pleaded with him. I also attempted to bargain for smaller ears but failed.”
Wiley and Obama discovered they had a lot in common when prepping for the portrait’s production (which included collecting hundreds of photos). According to Obama, “Both of us were reared by loving and supportive American moms. As a result, our travels included a certain amount of looking for and understanding what it meant to have African dads who were gone from our lives.”
Obama’s backdrop was chosen by Wiley to “charting [Obama’s] path on Earth.” according to the artist. Chrysanthemums are the national flower of Chicago (where the Obamas resided for many years), jasmine represents Hawaii (where Obama was born and reared) and African blue lilies (symbolising the President’s ancestry) are just a few of the flowers included in the arrangement.
Unlike conventional portraits of presidents and other prominent individuals (generally males), this picture confuses power dynamics between the subject, the artist, and the spectator. While Obama is shown in his chair, the picture has a life of its own thanks to the strange, kitsch flowers that adorn it.
Information Citations
En.wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/.
