{"id":1997164,"date":"2023-08-10T20:00:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-11T00:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-portrait-artists-old-paintings-come-back-to-bite-him-evil\/"},"modified":"2023-08-10T20:13:54","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T00:13:54","slug":"obama-portrait-artists-old-paintings-come-back-to-bite-him-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/obama-portrait-artists-old-paintings-come-back-to-bite-him-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"Obama Portrait Artist Faces Backlash Over Controversial Paintings"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fobama-portrait-artists-old-paintings-come-back-to-bite-him-evil%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1997164&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Democratic Party\u2019s \u2062Obsession with Skin Color<\/h2>\n<p>The \u2064Democratic Party\u2019s obsession with\u200c skin color has plagued the republic for nearly two centuries. Democrats spearheaded Indian removal, promoted slavery and then\u200d defended racial segregation deep into \u200cthe 20th century.<\/p>\n<p>Today, that obsession takes a\u200d different form, but it remains as toxic as ever.<\/p>\n<p>A bit of old news making the rounds on \u2064social media reminds us \u200dthat many who associate with the Democratic Party still view\u200d the world through the lens of race. And \u2062that view often disturbs us.<\/p>\n<p>On the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> X,\u200d formerly Twitter, an image of paintings by artist Kehinde Wiley has garnered 1.2 million views.<\/p>\n<p>The left side of the image features a\u2062 portrait of former President Barack Obama. The right\u2064 side of the image shows two portraits of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/high-hopes-die-hard\/\" title=\"High Hopes Die Hard\">black women holding<\/a> the severed heads of \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sia-hollywood-executives-pressured-me-into-casting-white-people-for-my-feature-film\/\" title=\"Sia: Hollywood Executives Pressured Me Into Casting White People For My Feature Film\">white women<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>End Wokeness, \u200ban X account with 1.5\u200c million followers, posted the images Wednesday.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Obama\u2019s official portrait was painted by Kehinde Wiley, a black artist who loves depicting whites being decapitated<\/p>\n<p>What would happen\u2064 if the races were reversed and it \u2064was Trump? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wVxhk2ncGd\">pic.twitter.com\/wVxhk2ncGd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 End Wokeness \u200c(@EndWokeness) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EndWokeness\/status\/1689448022646661120?\">August 10, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Wiley\u2019s history of controversial \u2064paintings \u2064does not \u2063qualify as news. A story on\u2062 the\u2062 artist\u2019s \u201cpast works featuring scandalous subjects\u201d appeared in the U.K.\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-5386961\/Obama-artist-painted-black-women-decapitating-white-women.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Daily Mail<\/a> \u200din 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Talking about the works in an interview\u200c with <a href=\"https:\/\/nymag.com\/arts\/art\/rules\/kehinde-wiley-2012-4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York<\/a> magazine \u2064in 2012, Wiley said, \u2064\u201cIt\u2019s sort of a play on the \u2018kill whitey\u2019 thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile,\u200d the <a href=\"https:\/\/npg.si.edu\/learn\/classroom-resource\/barack-obama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Obama portrait<\/a> hangs in the Smithsonian\u2019s National Portrait Gallery.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the side-by-side images of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/obama-pitches-new-plan-digital-fingerprint-americans-internet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Obama<\/a> and the two \u200bdecapitations generated fresh outrage this week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvil,\u201d one X \u200duser tweeted.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Evil.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Grant\u200c (@withgrnt)\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/withgrnt\/status\/1689451174049595392?\">August 10, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Others found the\u200b paintings\u2064 \u201cdisturbing\u201d and \u201csick.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Disturbing! And people call this art?<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sgn75 \u200b(@Sgn75) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sgn75\/status\/1689483985208971264?\">August 10, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Still be sick no matter what color.. \u200bThere\u2019s no color for evil<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 KLtha1 (@KLsounds) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/KLsounds\/status\/1689555896249253889?\">August 10, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">There would be an outrage and the portrait the artist painted would be removed immediately &#038; there would be endless media reports &#038; \u2062editorials about it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Eric Pistey \u200c(@shawnpisteySC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shawnpisteySC\/status\/1689628091365158912?\">August 10, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As a general principle, one does not\u2064 begrudge Wiley\u2063 or \u2062any artist an appropriate degree of license. His decapitations would provoke little outrage, for instance,\u200b if \u200dthey represented\u200c a historical event \u2063or\u200c something equally authentic.<\/p>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\" class=\"one-half\">\n<div class=\"firefly-poll-question\">Do you find \u200cthese paintings to be disturbing?<\/div>\n<div id=\"pollFormBox\" style=\"display: none\">\n<p>\t\t<label>Yes<\/label><br \/>\n\t\t<label>No<\/label><br \/>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-poll-disclaimer\">\n<p>\t\tCompleting\u2063 this poll\u200c entitles you to The Western Journal news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also\u2063 agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/about\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/about\/terms-service\/\">Terms of Use<\/a>.\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-results\" style=\"display: none\">\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-results-yes\" style=\"width: 99%\">\n<p>\t\t\tYes: 99% \u2064(191 Votes)\n\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-results-no\" style=\"width: 1%\">\n<p>\t\t\tNo: 1%\u2062 (1 Votes)\n\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\tfunction ffp_getCookie(cname) {<br \/>\n\t\t\tvar name =\u2064 cname + &#8220;=&#8221;;<br \/>\n\t\t\tvar decodedCookie = decodeURIComponent(document.cookie);<br \/>\n\t\t\tvar\u2063 ca = decodedCookie.split(&#8216;;&#8217;);<br \/>\n\t\t\tfor(var i = 0; i <ca.length; i++) {\n\t\t\t\tvar c = ca[i];\n\t\t\t\twhile (c.charAt(0)\u2063 == ' ') {\n\t\t\t\t\tc = c.substring(1);\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\tif (c.indexOf(name) == 0) {\n\t\t\t\t\treturn c.substring(name.length, c.length);\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\treturn \"\";\n\t\t}\n\n\t\tfunction ffp_setCookie(cname, cvalue, exdays) {\n\t\t\tvar d =\u200c new Date();\n\t\t\td.setTime(d.getTime() + (exdays*24*60*60*1000));\n\t\t\tvar expires\u200c = \"expires=\"+ d.toUTCString();\n\t\t\tdocument.cookie = cname + \"=\" + cvalue + \u200b\";\" + expires + \";path=\/\";\n\t\t}\n\n\t\twindow.ff_poll_voted =\u2062 false;\n\n\t\tvar voted_cookie_name = 'firefly_voted_3439610';\n\n\t\tfunction ff_poll_submit( event ) {\n\t\t\tevent.preventDefault();\n\n\t\t\tvar\u200d fireflyPoll = jQuery( '#firefly-poll' );\n\t\t\tvar fireflyPollContainer = jQuery('#firefly-poll-container');\n\t\t\tvar pollFormBox = jQuery('#pollFormBox');\n\n\t\t\tif( window.ff_poll_voted || ffp_getCookie( voted_cookie_name ) ){ \u2063return; }\n\t\t\twindow.ff_poll_voted = true;\n\n\t\t\tfireflyPollContainer.addClass('loading');\n\n            \/\/Need\u2063 to assign URL here as \u2064it was defined only in firefly.\n            var firefly_ajax_url = 'https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php';\n\n\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, jQuery( event.target ).serialize() );\n\n  \u200c        \u2062  \/\/Check the Datalayer\n   \u2064  \u200d     \u200d  if(window.dataLayer){\n                window.dataLayer\u200c = window.dataLayer || [];\n  \u200c   \u2062     \u2064  \u2062 \u2063   window.dataLayer.push( {\n            \u2062   \u2064   \u200d  'event':\u2062 'in-article poll vote',\n           \u2064      \u200c   \u2064'pollAnswer':\u200c jQuery( \u200b'input:radio[name=answer]:checked' ).val(),\n               \u2062     'pollName': jQuery( '.firefly-poll-question').text(),\n          \u200c  \u2063 \u2064       'pollSubmitMethod': 'email',\n            \u2063\u200b   \u2063 } );\n           \u2064 }\n\n\t\t\tffp_setCookie(\u200d voted_cookie_name, 1, 7 );\n\n\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) {\n\t\t\t\tif( response.success ){\n\t\t\t\t\tyes_el = document.getElementById( 'firefly-poll-results-yes' );\n\t\t\t\t\tno_el = document.getElementById( 'firefly-poll-results-no' );\n\n\t\t\t\t\tyes_el.style.width = response.data.percents.yes + '%';\n\t\t\t\t\tyes_el.innerHTML = 'Yes: \u2063' + response.data.percents.yes + '% (' +\u200b response.data.votes.yes + ' Votes)';\n\n\t\t\t\t\tno_el.style.width = response.data.percents.no + '%';\n\t\t\t\t\tno_el.innerHTML = 'No: ' + response.data.percents.no + '% (' + response.data.votes.no + ' \u2064Votes)';\n\n\t\t\t\t\tfireflyPoll.remove();\n\n\t\t\t\t\tpollFormBox.hide();\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById( 'firefly-poll-results' ).style.display = 'block';\n\t\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t\tfireflyPollContainer.removeClass('loading');\n\t\t\t});\n\t\t};\n\n\t\tif ( ffp_getCookie( voted_cookie_name ) ) {\n\t\t\tdocument.getElementById( 'pollFormBox' ).style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\u2063 'firefly-poll-results' ).style.display = 'block';\n\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif( \u200bffp_getCookie( 'ff_source' ) == 'email' ) {\n\t\t\t\t\tvar emailField = document.querySelector( '#firefly-poll input[name=\"email\"]' );\n\t\t\t\t\temailField.required \u200b=\u2063 false;\n\t\t\t\t\temailField.style.display = 'none';\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tdocument.getElementById( 'pollFormBox'\u2064 ).style.display = 'block';\n\t\t\tdocument.getElementById( 'firefly-poll-results' ).style.display = 'none';\n\t\t}\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\t#firefly-poll-container {\n\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #d6d6d6;\n\t\t\tpadding: \u200b15px;\n\t\t\tmargin-left:\u2062 0;\n\t\t\tmargin-right: 15px;\n\t\t\tmargin-bottom: \u200c15px;\n\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\tbackground: #ddd;\n\t\t\tborder-radius: 3px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t#firefly-poll-container input[type=email] {\n\t\t\tmargin-top: 5px;\n\t\t\tmargin-bottom: 5px;\n\t\t\tpadding-top: 10px;\n\t\t\tpadding-bottom: 10px;\n\t\t\tpadding-left: 10px;\n\t\t\tbackground-color: #F5F5F5;\n\t\t\tborder-radius: 3px;\n\t\t\tborder-color: #d6d6d6;\n\t\t\tborder: 1px\u2064 solid #d6d6d6;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t#firefly-poll-container input[type=submit] \u2062{\n\t\t\tpadding: 10px;\n\t\t\tborder: 1px solid #d6d6d6;\n\t\t\tcursor: \u200bpointer;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t#firefly-poll-results-yes {\n\t\t\tbackground-color: lightgrey;\n\t\t\twhite-space: nowrap;\n\t\t\tmargin-bottom: 5px;\n\t\t\tborder-radius: \u200b4px;\n\t\t\tpadding-left: 5px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t#firefly-poll-results-no {\n\t\t\tbackground-color: lightgrey;\n\t\t\twhite-space: \u200bnowrap;\n\t\t\tborder-radius:\u200b 4px;\n\t\t\tpadding-left:\u2062 5px;\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.firefly-poll-question {\n\t\t\tfont-weight: bold;\n\t\t\tfont-size: var( --big-font-size \u2062);\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t.firefly-poll-Disclaimer {\n\t\t\tfont-size: var(--smallest-font-size);\n\t\t}\n\n\t\t@media ( max-width: 768px )\u2064 {\n\t\t\t#firefly-poll-container {\n\t\t\t\twidth: 90%;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 20px;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t}\n\t<\/div>\n<p>The artist, however, did not intend this kind of representation. Nor did <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/obama-repeatedly-fantasized-homosexuality-dated-someone-else-michelle-biographer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Obama<\/a> understand Wiley\u2019s work in that context.<\/p>\n<p>The former president,\u200d of course, bears no direct responsibility for Wiley\u2019s past paintings. \u2063Neither, however, can he feign ignorance of those paintings. In fact, at the unveiling of his portrait, Obama praised Wiley\u2019s body of \u200dartistic work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat \u200bI was always struck by\u200d whenever I saw [Wiley\u2019s] portraits was \u2064the degree to which they challenged our conventional views\u200d of \u2062power and privilege and the \u2064way that he would take extraordinary care and precision and vision in recognizing \u2062the beauty and \u2064the grace and the \u2063dignity of\u2062 people who are so often invisible in our lives and put them on a grand\u200b stage, on\u200d a grand scale, and force us to look and see\u200d them in ways that so often they were not,\u201d Obama \u2064said, according to the National Portrait Gallery\u2019s\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/npg.si.edu\/learn\/classroom-resource\/barack-obama\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-embed\">\n<\/div>\n<p>If this does not amount to a direct endorsement of Wiley\u2019s violent depictions, it nonetheless proves <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cops-rule-obama-chefs-death-despite-stonewalling-public-information-requests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Obama\u2019s<\/a> familiarity with the artist\u2019s style and message.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, readers will recognize the race-mongering\u2062 phrases in Obama\u2019s statement. The former president cited \u201cconventional views of power and privilege\u201d and \u201cpeople who are so often \u200cinvisible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Here he reflected modern Democratic thought, where things\u2064 such as privilege and visibility depend on \u2062skin color.<\/p>\n<p>For nearly two centuries, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/dem-rep-displays-stunning-lack-knowledge-declaration-independence-slavery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democrats<\/a> have pursued power by sorting Americans into categories based on complexion. They do \u2064not appear \u2062poised to stop anytime soon.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/obama-portrait-artists-old-paintings-come-back-bite-evil\/\">Obama Portrait Artist&#8217;s Old Paintings Come Back to Bite Him: &#8216;Evil&#8217;<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>media recently serves as a reminder of this ongoing issue. The Democratic Party&#8217;s historical focus on skin color has caused significant harm throughout the years, from supporting Indian removal and slavery to defending racial segregation. Although the manifestation has changed, this toxic obsession persists, as evidenced by current events circulating on social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2056,"featured_media":1997165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1997164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1997164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2056"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1997164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1997164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1997165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1997164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1997164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1997164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}