Painting of Nude Bush Removed From Museum

Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | October 9, 2004 | CARL HARTMAN, AP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

— A cartoonish painting of President Bush in the nude has been taken down from the wall at the City Museum of Washington. The picture, called "Man of Leisure, King George," adopts the pose of a famous Impressionist painting, Edouard Manet's "Olympia," that scandalized Paris in 1863, and now hangs in the Gare d'Orsay Museum in Paris.

The painting by local artist Kayti Didriksen, shows a caricature of Bush, reclining in the nude on a chaise lounge, his head propped up by pillows.

Instead of the female servant who stands behind Olympia's couch, a man in suit and tie resembling Vice President Dick Cheney stands nearby, holding a cushion with a crown and a miniature oil rig on top of it.

The painting was part of a "living room art" show called "Funky Furniture" — a variety of painted furniture and other items that were set up in the museum last week.

Expected to formally open this month, the show, including the Bush painting, was abruptly shut down Monday after some of the artists' themes were considered unsuitable.

Myra Peabody Gossens, a public relations consultant for the museum, said the exhibit was not what had been expected.

"The museum is not an art museum," she explained. "It gets mostly groups of children, with teachers trying to tell them something about history."

In addition to the Bush painting, the exhibit included a decorated church pew with pictures and writing that accused former President Reagan of ignoring the AIDS crisis and an end table decorated with drug paraphernalia with a quote from former District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry, who was jailed for drug possession.

"This is not what we were bargaining for. We thought we were getting functional furniture," Leslie Shapiro, co-chairman of the museum's board of directors, told the Washington Post.

The City Museum of Washington, operated by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., is primarily a place where local and regional history is on display. The museum's executive board decided the museum was "not an appropriate venue" for the exhibit.

Art-O-Matic 2004, a confederation of local artists which organized the project, now is looking for another space to house the exhibit, said Jim Tretick, a member of the group's board of directors.

"About a dozen people may have seen it on Sunday," said Tretick. "The exhibit wasn't completely mounted. Then it was taken down on Monday when the museum was closed."

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Washington artist Kayti Didriksen's painting 'Man of Leisure, King George' depicts President Bush in the well-known style of Manet's 'Olympia', as he is presented with his crown by a depiction of Vice President Dick Cheney. The cartoonish painting has been taken down from the wall at the City Museum of Washington, awaiting a more welcoming venue.(AP Photo/Artomatic, Jim Tretick)

City Museum to Close Its Galleries*** The beleaguered City Museum of Washington has decided to close its exhibit galleries to the general public next spring. The decision, in effect, terminates the museum aspects of the multimillion-dollar project, which has struggled to find an audience and a distinct voice since its opening in May 2003 by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. Its lucrative use as a party space, however, will continue.

As a museum, the halls were often empty. By the end of August, the museum had attracted only 36,536 paying patrons, far short of the 100,000 to 450,000 that had been projected.

The museum board notified its supporters that all exhibits will close next April, but the historic building, the original Carnegie Library in downtown Washington, will remain open for public programs and for researchers at the society's library. As long as the original exhibitions are intact, the board decided, school groups can make appointments to see the materials. The one successful function that will continue will be renting out the historic building on Ninth Street NW, opposite the Washington Convention Center, for private receptions and dinners.

"We made the difficult decision to close all Museum exhibits as of April 18, 2005, and to launch a planning process to create a dynamic new Museum that truly engages the public in the rich and fascinating history of the city," Thornell Page and Leslie Shapiro, the co-chairmen of the board, said in a statement. Shapiro said the initial mistake was opening without enough money to sustain the museum's ambitions and advertise its content. .....

[orangelobster]

I think the painting is hilarious. Nothing wrong with this. The Reagan thing sounds offensive though.

[Jet Jaguar]

That is the painting? I could do better than that and do.


This 'artist' needs some help.

[martin_fierro]

What the National Endowment for the Arts hath wrought.

[endthematrix]

"This is not what we were bargaining for"

Of course not. The civilized world operates on decorum.

[eclectic]

Thank you for sharing this article. I am upset that this magnificent Work of Art could have slipped away from me...

... My eyes! My eyes! ... Something happened to my eyes!!!

[martin_fierro]

Turns out Kayti's both an artist and a bartender.

[EGPWS]

Art-O-Matic 2004, a confederation of local artists which organized the project, now is looking for another space to house the exhibit, said Jim Tretick, a member of the group's board of directors.

A shpingkster comes to mind that would be an appropriate space Mr. Shapiro, are you up for an open house?

[Darkwolf377]

For Halloween, I offer two terrifying words to this artist:

Naked Terayza

[Darkwolf377]

Leave the artist alone, I think it's a great job for a four year old!

[goldstategop]

LOL. President Bush is too good looking. No wonder he's got the women's vote. :)

[newzjunkey]

What a crappy painting! At least it could've been done in a more Reubenesque style!

[martin_fierro]

[newzjunkey]

Leave the artist alone, I think it's a great job for a four year old!

HAHAHA!

[EGPWS]

Naked Terayza

Now THATS disgusting!

However, when Hillary is on mind, maybe it's not so bad?

BOOOO!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

[piasa]

Naked Terayza

No, thanks. We see too much of her as it is.

[WorkingClassFilth]

'ART' is another area of media that conservatives need to move into far more heavily. The left has used these cheap theatrical tactics for decades and often at public expense through the NEA. After all, it's 'ART' don'cha know?

As juvenile as it is, public ridicule done by amateurs and professionals IS effective with a fairly large swath of the populace. To ignore that fact, by taking the high road, is at one's peril. Given the base and purile lives of many lefties, and the ultimately tyrannical nature of their beliefs, the canvas available to conservative artistic talents is broad and inviting (MiaT knows this well).

For the left, culture has always been a pop phenomenon and the tenets of real culture - morals and values - are despised. I think there are enough able conservatives out there that we ought to be able to dominate both the traditional institutions of civil culture and the pop sphere simultaneously.

Of course, some housecleaning is in order first...

[cyborg]

Bush is much more muscular than that, and I'll bet... well nevermind :o)

[DanTheAdmin]

>>Naked Terayza<<

This picture is a close as you want to get:

[newzjunkey]

MY EEEEEEEEEEEYES!