The Obamas – and How Art Inspires Us
by Tribekah Jordan
There is a nostalgia felt upon viewing the Obama portraits. They provoke a remembrance of the 44th president's 2008 election, one that brought adversity in the face of racist comments alongside a glimmer of hope for black Americans in the wake of change. President Barack Obama holds a noble title, the first black president in America. Obama fulfilled a piece of America that had been missing for too long, one that the people needed most, a leader who shares the same challenges, culture, and truth as us.
On Oct. 26th, Cape Cod Community College held “A Celebration of Leadership” event for its students. It was a field trip to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts that included a viewing of the Obama Portraits as well as an offering of student internships.
The Obama portraits made their way to Boston as the final destination of a national tour. The portrait of Barack Obama, painted by Kehinde Wiley, depicts him sitting confidently as flowers bloom around him. Displayed next to the president's portrait is one of his wife, Michelle Obama, painted by Amy Sherald, the first lady is posed elegantly and her dress, covered in playful patterns, flows to the ground. Both portraits strongly differ from the traditional portraiture of presidents and first ladies. Unlike those before them, the Obama portraits were painted by black artists. Wiley and Sherald added detailing that carried special meaning for the president and first lady.
Each flower shown in the background of the president's portrait represents a piece of Barack's upbringing. The jasmine flower of Hawaii is shown in homage to where Barack spent his childhood. The painting also includes chrysanthemums of Chicago, and African blue lilies are presented for his late Kenyan dad, Barack Obama Sr. The piece of the first lady also holds special meaning. Michelle’s skin tone is painted a hue of gray, which, the artist explained, represents “blackness without the gaze of whiteness.” Meaning, we are meant to view people of color for more than just their skin tone and to recognize their way of being.
These works of art are powerful in their nature and invoked a movement across the world. One that is also shown at the museum, “Portraits of Leadership,” was organized by students from the MFA’s curatorial study hall program. The varying portraits represent everyday heroes, the message being there are heroes all around us in our everyday lives.
The president inspired those of us who have been told we cannot do something because of our race to prove to whoever doubts us that we can, and we will. Barack Obama once said, “I'm here to say we must reject such despair. I'm here to insist that we are not as divided as we seem, and I know that because I know America. I know how far we've come against impossible odds.”
The portrait of Barack Obama provides a feeling of hope that we should always carry with us, one that says we too can change the world.
Barack Obama portrait (Olivia Appleton)
Michelle Obama portrait (Olivia Appleton)
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