Many detractors of President Obama claim that he has a "messianic" personality.
They believe that he believes that he is some kind of messiah whose job it is to "save" the rest of us.
Frankly, I think that's an over-the-top assessment of the president. But the belief, or fear, that he has these tendencies is taking hold, especially among conservatives who find his attempts to fix the economy and improve social conditions intrusive and beyond the traditional role of government.
Now an artist has painted his vision of a messianic Obama, a painting that will be on display today at New York City's Union Square.
Michael D'Antuono says his painting, "The Truth" has, during its previous private showings, raised eyebrows and spurred discourse on the nation's current political climate and deep partisan divide.
The 30" x 54" acrylic painting on canvas depicts President Obama appearing much like Jesus Christ on the Cross; atop his head, a crown of thorns. Behind him, the dark veil being lifted (or lowered) on the Presidential Seal.
D'Antuono says the piece is a mirror; reflecting the personal opinions and emotions of the viewer; that "The Truth," like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. D'Antuono expects that individual interpretations will vary as widely as they do in the political arena. The work, he anticipates, will be seen by one viewer at a time behind a voting booth-inspired public installation.
D'Antuono is best known for his iconic celebrity portraits and romantic narratives. This is his first foray into political subject matter.
"Aided by the media, politics has taken a nasty turn in the last decade," he says. "I firmly believe that this is one of the underlying causes of our nation's current problems."
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And I know this because this story was spammed all over message boards yesterday.
Since it wasn't a copy and paste but my reporting I guess the best I can do is link to myself :).
Emphasis on bent.
I find this painting disturbing on several levels; mostly because of the death/blood sacrifice implications, which I find so distasteful I'll just leave it at that.
I actually really like this work of art, which is interesting given that I loathe the messiah references that come out of the right (but were started with Hillary Clinton supporters during the primary). It's the easiest way to criticize both the man and his supporters, and there is almost no evidence ever offered for the accusations of fetishism. A right-wing columnist in our local newspaper regularly makes sarcastic references to the messianic Obama, and I find that to be the ultimate laziness. Talk about lack of rigor!
So why do I like this painting? I don't know. Maybe just because it's provocative and speaks to this current perception. I actually assume that anyone that good at art must be a liberal (talk about bias!), so I assume he is commenting on the tyranny of the right. I would love to interview him, and I hope you get the chance to do so, Gary. If you do, let us know what he says.
Artists regularly produce exploitive, controversial pieces which have no other aim but to bring attention to themselves in an effort to gain notoriety. It's called 'shock value'. As an art form it lacks maturity and resonance and is typically appealing only to the sophomoric.
sophomoric
synonyms: childish, adolescent, juvenile.
How odd, because here's a link to your original story as written by Drew Zahn
[url=http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=96138]100 days in office[/url]
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=96138
As I indicated earlier, I received a press release from the author.
The press release included certain quotes. Apparently the same quotes were provided to the WND author.
He is a human trying to do an incredibly difficult job.
In my experiences of observing Obama, and talking to zealous supporters, it isn't Obama that has the messianic complex -- it is people projecting that savior expectation onto him. That is the real danger, I think. I've seen it in several quarters, among several demographics of zealous supporters... among co-workers, on the bus, in stores, room mates, family, nearly everywhere I speak to people, and irrational expectation that 'everything is gonna be okay' now that Obama is here to fix it! I have already seen signs of a terrible backlash from this as people begin to wake up from their emotional intoxication with a reality hangover.
He's just one man. I believe his outer intentions are sincere but the sheer weight of momentum that he is squaring up against will eat him alive if he doesn't enlist the right assistance.
I can't tell just from the painting.
You know those elastic bracelets with wooden beads, each with a different picture of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, St. Joseph, etc.?
a picture of what I'm talking about is here:
http://www.discountcatholicproducts.com/catholic-store.aspx?st=11062
Well, anyway, they're very popular among immigrant and lower-income Catholics. This bracelet I found, however, had not saint pictures but instead nothing but various pictures of Obama.
If it weren't $8 I would have bought it for kitsch value.
You know those elastic bracelets with wooden beads, each with a different picture of the Virgin Mary, Jesus, St. Joseph, etc.?
a picture of what I'm talking about is here:
http://www.discountcatholicproducts.com/catholic-store.aspx?st=11062
Well, anyway, they're very popular among immigrant and lower-income Catholics. This bracelet I found, however, had not saint pictures but instead nothing but various pictures of Obama.
If it weren't $8 I would have bought it for kitsch value.