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Discussion » Questions » Arts » What do think of these fanciful paintings by Andy Thomas? What do you think the presidents would say to each other?

What do think of these fanciful paintings by Andy Thomas? What do you think the presidents would say to each other?


Posted - October 16, 2018

Responses


  • 4631
    I think they're excellent in a surprising way.
    I don't think much of the technique - it's so standardised and unoriginal, a bit like old-fashioned poster art.
    But the theme and its implications are strong.
    It makes me think of how past and recent presidents might respond to one another if they could all sit together sharing a beer, or how they might get along in a friendly game of snooker or pool.
    Abe Lincoln counts as the greatest - not just for his values and policies but for his ability to successfully argue the reasons for them.
    I was wondering just yesterday what he might think of Trump's tweets, press releases and speeches.
    Why is there no one of Abe's calibre willing to stand for office today?
      October 17, 2018 12:01 AM MDT
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  • 13251
    An interesting feature in each of the pool game ones is the inclusion of George Washington in a portrait hanging on the wall.
      October 17, 2018 12:12 AM MDT
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  • 4631
    Yes, I noticed that -
    I wondered if the painter suggests the contrast between Washington's time and values, and what has happened with POTUSes since.
    The second picture on each pool room walls frames not a mirror, but portraits of one or two of the more recent presidents - why are they picked out? do they indicate echoes of themes? - and if so, which ones?
    I wonder if the painter asks us to reflect on the trajectories of history, the values the US once aimed for and whether they still hold in the same ways as back then? Is he asking us to evaluate? This post was edited by inky at October 17, 2018 7:20 PM MDT
      October 17, 2018 6:55 PM MDT
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  • 13251
    I'm not sure he's asking us to read anything into them unless we choose to. And to answer your question about why nobody of Lincoln's caliber is running today, there have been few candidates of his caliber at any time before him or since. That's why he stands out as a great president.
      October 17, 2018 7:17 PM MDT
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  • 4631
    That's how it is with artists. (I was one by training and for twenty years.)
    Many like to incorporate multiple layers of meaning, but also fully understand that the viewer brings their own responses to the work and that there is no way to control or predict what these responses might be.
    Despite that, the specific range of responses tends turns out to be roughly the same for most works; consider the range of responses to Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Dali's Metamorphosis of Narcissus, or Warhol's Marylin Monroe.

      October 19, 2018 2:09 PM MDT
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  • I wonder what the presidents of old would have thought about the one.. .thats a little...you know . . .different.

      October 17, 2018 12:22 AM MDT
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  • 13251
    Different how? The top one has nine Democratic presidents and the one below it has 10 Republican ones.
      October 17, 2018 12:51 AM MDT
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  • 19942
    He must mean Trump - all the others had a modicum of intelligence and the ability to understand how the government works.
      October 17, 2018 8:41 AM MDT
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  • 13251
    And it also includes Nixon, only the biggest crook ever elected. And the Democratic one includes Andrew Jackson, racist Woodrow Wilson, and big-time misogynists JFK and Bill Clinton. But how does any of that detract from the artistry? I don't believe it does. This post was edited by Stu Spelling Bee at October 18, 2018 8:03 AM MDT
      October 17, 2018 9:32 AM MDT
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  • 19942
    It doesn't distract from the artistry at all.  I like all of the pictures.
      October 17, 2018 9:42 AM MDT
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  • Really guys??
      October 17, 2018 6:58 PM MDT
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  • 13251
    Really what? Why don't you speak up and be more specific about your opinion instead of making us guess?
      October 17, 2018 7:19 PM MDT
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  • 17364
    I love them
      October 17, 2018 12:22 AM MDT
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  • 22891
    they look like good paintings
      October 17, 2018 9:53 AM MDT
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  • 520
    They look a lot better than these God awful monstrosities!!
    !  Image result for obama portrait
      October 17, 2018 11:16 AM MDT
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  • 2052
    I like them a lot.  
      October 17, 2018 6:35 PM MDT
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