It’s the ostensible small details that make these paintings even more massively captivating
On a picturesque afternoon in Golden Gate Park, dozens of curious writers — editors, journalists, conduits of art and culture — gathered inside a window-less, rectangular, all-black room on the de Young Museum’s second floor to fawn over the official presidential portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama. Having been the first people to see the SF-based exhibit before it debuts to the general public on June 18th, there was a collective, almost tactile excitement in the room.
iPhones were seen held over shoulders. Notepads busied as ink pens scribbled in the form of quasi-legible letters. No one dared use their smartphone’s flash; the terror that came over someone’s face when their generic ringtone went off was noteworthy. The magnitude and triumph of the exhibition were on full display — and not one soul wanted accidentally pull focus.
Barack and Michelle Obama’s National Portraits Are Coming to San Francisco
And just in time for Junteenth, too
The arrival of the Obama presidential portraits at the de Young Museum marks the first anniversary of The Obama Portraits Tour, which has been held at various culture centers across the country. For the occasion, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Curator Timothy Burgard led a private two-hour viewing for the present crowd on Wednesday, June 16th, discussing the symbolism and significance of the paintings.
Photo: Courtesy of Matt Charnock
To describe Burgard’s knowledge of the paintings as “good” would be like to call a mako shark a “quick swimmer” — which is to say unrepresentative. Among Burgard’s well of knowledge around the Obama portraits, two notable facts he presented stood out the most: how the individual flowers on Bracak’s piece doubled as metaphors for significant geographies in his life, and Michelle’s one-off dress designed by Michelle Smith, for her label Milly, has visual affinities with the quilts of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, a remote black community founded on the descendants of former slaves.
Photo: Courtesy of Matt Charnock
If you look closely enough at Barack’s portrait you’ll notice his feet are slightly off the ground and tilted, evoking a sense that he’s floating and effervescent; Burgard was privy to note the former president, too, is depicted about 10% larger than life.
Michelle, though placed on a smaller canvass, exudes the notion that she was the rock of the family — a belief Barack shared in countless interviews. Her dress appears like a rocky monolith, accented by sharp linework that gives the painting a mountainous presence.
Photo: Courtesy of Matt Charnock
For those keen on learning more about how each painting was conceived, there’s a looped video at the front of the exhibit that delves into deep detail. On the opposite wall, you’ll find the reference photos of each portrait used for context, as well as lil’ paragraphs of information shiny with gold nuggets.
So… if it already isn’t abundantly clear: You should absolutely go check the SF stop of The Obama Portraits Tour at the de Young when it becomes accessible to the public this weekend.
