The Obama Portraits Without Irony, Sarcasm Or Snide Remarks. Part 2: The President

                                                           

As impartial and unbiased and neutral as I can be on the subject, this is one of the most bizarre chapters in American history.

It goes like this: President Obama, in all of his grandeur and self-esteem, simply could not have a presidential portrait that in any way resembled other presidential portraits. So he commissioned controversial artist Kehinde Wiley to complete the job.

Kehinde Wiley, either motivated by his own quest for notoriety or his need to trash the office of the president, launched an obviously disrespectful product. In the process of degradation, Barack Obama became collateral damage. There is no other logical conclusion.

First, allow us to let the self-professed arbiters of truth, Snopes.com, summarize one aspect of the portrait.
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                                                                           Spermatoza:

The official portrait of former President Barack Obama contains secretly-placed images of sperm cells, including one on his forehead.

RATING

 FALSE

ORIGIN

It was perhaps inevitable that controversy would surround the unveiling of former President Obama’s official portrait in February 2018, given that it was painted by Kehinde Wiley, a gay African-American artist who is also a self-professed provocateur.

The Internet bristled with reproductions of two of Wiley’s previous works depicting black women holding the severed heads of white people — tableaux some decried as “racist” — even as conservative pundits went on about supposedly detected representations of “sperm cells” in Obama’s portrait.

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If you are interested, Snopes countered by calling the anons who magnified the portrait, drum roll please, racist trolls.

Magnification reveals a large foreign object under the president's left temple that just so happens to resemble a sperm cell. 

Now let's back up a little bit. Hidden sperm is Wiley's signature.

In the following concoction, the sperm are not hidden. Magnify at your own risk.

By the way, I claim fair use for what might be copyrighted work. 

On the issue of hidden sperm, Snopes is clearly wrong, if not openly deceptive. The MSM has launched several refutation efforts that are easily found with a search engine. Yes, Barack Obama has a prominent vein on yes left temple. No, he does not have a baby snake submerged under his skin. Wiley used the vein to hide his trademark.

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Obama's Hands:

Wiley has given Obama a left hand with six fingers or two right hands.

There is either a sixth finger (as well as a left thumb) submerged or a right thumb submerged. What is Wiley telling us?

I don't know about the six fingers but we have some history concerning two right hands.

Pharaohs have been drawn  with two right hands.

And there is this explanation.

I don't know what Wiley is trying to communicate. What we know is that he is communicating his message intentionally.
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                                                           The Flowers:

Flowers do not have a static symbolism. Saints are sometimes associated with specific species of flowers and they find their way into various coats of arms.

Flowers often symbolize fertility. Makes sense.

Pansy is slang for sissy.

For all the discussion of the flowers' hidden meaning, it seems that there might have been some "cut and paste" involved.

Maybe the flowers are just a device to remove Obama from an American backdrop. There is nothing obviously American in this portrait. Nothing presidential. Whatever else might be said about the flowery, florid, leafy background, no gravitas is conveyed. None. Nada. Zilch.
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                                                                The Pose:

Life is kinetic. There is hidden motion in snapshots and still life drawings. I am not the first to suggest that this portrait conveys a man sitting on a toilet. Yes, Obama is clothed and he is seated on a chair and not a porcelain throne but, look closely (as painful as that might be) at the pose.

Does this altered photo look more authentic?

Wiley, for all his foolishness, knows what he is doing. He is trashing America and the presidency. If  Barry gets dusted up in the process, that's art..

Despite what he has said publicly, I don't think Mr. Styrofoam Greek Column is pleased with Wiley's work.