Art Controversy in the Obama White House: Performing Tensions of Race in the Visual Politics of the Presidency

In 2009, two works by African American artists selected for display in the White House produced controversy among critics of the president. Our analysis explores how media discussion involving a Charles Alston bust of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and an abstract painting by Alma Thomas unearthed cul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Presidential studies quarterly 2014-06, Vol.44 (2), p.244-266
Main Authors: Finnegan, Cara A., Mixon, Anita J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African American artists
African Americans
Art Works
Art, Black
Artists
Black art
Community
Company public relations
Disputes
King, Jr., Martin Luther
King, Martin Luther
Mass Media Effects
Obama, Barack
Political aspects
Political science
Politicians
Presidency
Presidents
Public administration
Race
Racism
Rhetoric
Social activism
Symposium on Screening the Presidency
Whites
Works
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Summary:In 2009, two works by African American artists selected for display in the White House produced controversy among critics of the president. Our analysis explores how media discussion involving a Charles Alston bust of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and an abstract painting by Alma Thomas unearthed cultural tensions involving the practice of imitation, the value of presence, and the role of Black art and artists. Such tensions shaped the debate about the art works chosen by the Obamas and raised the question of how to define and place a Black president in the first year of his first term.
ISSN:0360-4918
1741-5705
DOI:10.1111/psq.12112