Jon McNaughton’s painting
won’t win any prizes for artistic merit or subtlety, but it could be the
defining image of Trump’s presidential moment
Obama’s 2008 campaign had Shepard Fairey’s
“Hope” poster; if there’s a defining image for Donald Trump’s presidential
moment, it could well be The Forgotten
Man, an oil painting by Utah-based artist Jon McNaughton. The detailed image takes some unpicking: In
front of a twilit White House, with the American flag at half-mast, all the
past presidents of the US are gathered. In the left foreground is a Caucasian
man in contemporary dress, sat on a bench, his gaze cast downwards, “distraught
and hopeless as he contemplates his future,” as the artist puts it. Closest to
him stand (presumably) Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, Thomas Jefferson and
George Washington, who hold out their hands to him as they look beseechingly to
the figure on the right: Barack Obama. Obama stands aloof, arms folded, looking
away, surrounded by an applauding gaggle including Bill Clinton and Franklin
Roosevelt. Founding father James Madison beckons towards Obama’s feet in a
“What are you doing?” gesture. Under Obama’s right foot is the US Constitution.
From The Guardian read it HERE
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