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Art Controversy in the O bama W hite H ouse: Performing Tensions of Race in the Visual Politics of the Presidency
Author(s) -
Finnegan Cara A.,
Mixon Anita J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12112
Subject(s) - presidency , politics , bust , race (biology) , painting , art , imitation , art history , political science , visual arts , sociology , law , gender studies , engineering , psychology , boom , environmental engineering , social psychology
In 2009, two works by A frican A merican artists selected for display in the W hite H ouse produced controversy among critics of the president. Our analysis explores how media discussion involving a C harles A lston bust of Dr. M artin L uther K ing, Jr., and an abstract painting by A lma T homas 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 O bamas and raised the question of how to define and place a Black president in the first year of his first term.