AbbVie may be able to help.
>>> WELCOME BACK
NO MATTER HOW TENSE POLITICS CAN
GET, THERE ARE A FEW TRADITIONS
THAT STILL TEND TO BRING
POLITICAL RIVALS TOGETHER, LIKE
TRIBUTES TO VETERANS AROUND
FALLEN SOLDIERS ON THIS MEMORIAL
DAY.
OR FUNERALS OF MAJOR FIGURES
AND THEN BEYOND THE SOLEMN,
THERE IS ANOTHER MODERN
TRADITION, WITH SOME UNITY, THAT
COMES WITH THE OFFICIAL
UNVEILING OF A FORMER
PRESIDENT’S PORTRAIT IN THE
WHITE HOUSE.
IN FACT, HERE’S HOW PRESIDENT
OBAMA APPROACHED THAT TASK WHEN
UNVEILING PRESIDENT GEORGE
BUSH’S PORTRAIT IN 2012.
>> IN THIS JOB, NO DECISION THAT
REACHES YOUR DESK IS EASY.
NO CHOICE YOU MAKE IS WITHOUT
COST
NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY,
YOU’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE
EVERYBODY HAPPY.
I THINK THAT’S SOMEBODY
PRESIDENT BUSH AND I HAVE
LEARNED PRETTY QUICKLY
AND THAT’S WHY, FROM TIME TO
TIME, THOSE OF US WHO HAVE HAD
THE PRIVILEGE TO HOLD THIS
OFFICE FIND OURSELVES TURNING TO
THE ONLY PEOPLE ON EARTH WHO
KNOW THE FEELING
WE MAY HAVE OUR DIFFERENCES
POLITICALLY, BUT THE PRESIDENCY
TRANSCENDING THOSE DIFFERENCES
>> WORTHWHILE SENTIMENTS
BUT THE TRADITION APPEARS TO BE
ENDING
NO PLANS TO HOLD ANY OFFICIAL
UNVEILING OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S
WHITE HOUSE PORTRAIT
NBC REPORTING NEITHER OBAMA OR
TRUMP APPEAR INTERESTED IN
TRYING TO COME TOGETHER FOR IT
THIS YEAR.
THE ARTICLE NOTING IT’S TOO SOON
TO KNOW WHETHER THE ABSENCE OF
THE UNIQUELY HARMONIOUS OCCASION
IS JUST A OCCASION ISREFLECTS
THE SINGULAR DYNAMICS OF THE
PRESIDENTS INVOLVED OR WHETHER
IT’S AN INDICATION OF A BROADER
MOVEMENT
BOTH BARACK AND MICHELLE OBAMA
TAPPED A NEW GENERATION OF
ARTISTS FOR THE HONOR.
MICHELLE CHOSE AMY CHERYL WHO
PAINTED THE ICONIC IMAGE OF
MICHELLE THAT NOW HANGS IN THE
SMITHSONIAN’S NATIONAL PORTRAIT
GALLERY.
RIGHT NOW, VERY SPECIAL
ANNOUNCEMENT, AMY CHERYL JOINS
US
HER ART SPANS FAR BEYOND THAT
PORTRAIT
SHE IS THE FIRST WOMAN AND THE
FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN TO WIN
FIRST PRIZE IN A NATIONAL
PORTRAIT GALLERY COMPETITION
THANKS FOR JOINING ME.
>> HI, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME
HOW ARE YOU?
>> I’M ALL RIGHT
THIS IS AN INTERESTING ONE
WE WANTED TO GET INTO IT WITH
YOU.
FIRST, BIG PICTURE, PUN
INTENDED, WHAT IS THE VALUE IN
YOUR VIEW OF BOTH THESE
PORTRAITS, OF THE CEREMONY
IT’S OBVIOUSLY NOT YOUR CALL
THAT THESE PRESIDENTS AREN’T
DOING ONE.
BUT WHAT’S THE VALUE HERE?
>> I THINK THAT THE OPPORTUNITY
FOR THE UNVEILING TO HAPPEN IN
THE WHITE HOUSE IS A GREAT
OPPORTUNITY.
THE WHITE HOUSE IS NOT ONLY A
SYMBOL OF OUR DEMOCRACY BUT IT’S
ALSO A DE FACTO MUSEUM OF SORTS,
AND IT HOLDS AN ARCHIVE, YOU
KNOW, AND ARTIFACTS OF THE
PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THE WHITE
HOUSE BEFORE
AND I REMEMBER WATCHING THE
UNVEILING AND I REMEMBER BEING
HEARTENED, SEEING THESE TWO
POLITICAL PARTIES COME TOGETHER
AND, YOU KNOW, ALL POLITICS
ASIDE, IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL
CELEBRATION THAT US AS ARTISTS
ARE ABLE TO TAKE A PART OF
IT’S REALLY SAD THAT HE’S
LEAVING THIS TRADITION BEHIND.
I THINK IT’S VERY DISHEARTENING
FOR THE ARTISTS THAT HAD THE
OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE AND
CREATE THESE PORTRAITS AND
BECOME A PART OF THE HISTORICAL
LEGACY
>> THAT JUST PERFECT SENSE, WHAT
YOU’RE SAYING.
AND THAT LEGACY, AGAIN, IS PART
OF IT.
WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE
PRESTIGE, THE SYMBOLISM, THE
HISTORY.
AND WE’RE TALKING AS WELL,
OBVIOUSLY, ABOUT THE FIRST BLACK
FAMILY IN THE OVAL OFFICE IN THE
WHITE HOUSE.
>> RIGHT
>> WE’LL PUT BACK UP SOME OF THE
IMAGERY OF YOUR MICHELLE
PORTRAIT
MANY PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER THIS,
IT WAS STRIKING, IT WAS
DIFFERENT THAN PORTRAITS WE’VE
SEEN IN THE PAST, WITH HER
FLOWING DRESS, YOU SEE IT THERE
ON THE RIGHT
WALK US THROUGH WHAT YOU WERE
GOING FOR.
>> FOR MY PORTRAIT
>> MM-HMM.
>> THE FIRST THING THAT I
THOUGHT ABOUT WHEN I GOT THE
COMMISSION WAS THAT I WANTED TO
CREATE AN IMAGE OF HER THAT WAS
UNIVERSAL AND SOMETHING THAT WAS
DIFFERENT THAN ALL OF THE IMAGES
THAT WE SAW OF HER IN THE MEDIA,
SOMETHING THAT FELT MORE PRIVATE
AND MORE PERSONAL TO WHO SHE
WAS.
I WORKED WITH HER STYLIST,
AMERICA
MEREDITH KOOP.
WHEN WE CAME ACROSS THIS DRESS
THAT HAD THIS PRINT, IT MADE ME
THINK OF THE HISTORY OF WOMEN
WITH THEIR QUILTING, AND THAT
LET ME CONNECT IT WITH NOT ONLY
WOMEN’S HISTORY BUT BLACK
HISTORY, WITHOUT BEING TOO
DIDACTIC
WE DISCUSSED THE WAY THAT I
PAINT, WE DISCUSSED THE FACT
THAT HER IMAGE WOULD BE ENGRAVED
BECAUSE THAT’S THE WAY I PRODUCE
MY FIGURES AND SHE WAS OKAY WITH
THAT
IT’S A MOMENT IN HISTORY THAT
NEEDED TO BE DOCUMENTED AND THEY
WANTED IT TO BE DOCUMENTED IN A
WAY THAT WHEN PEOPLE CAME INTO
THE MUSEUM, THEY REALIZED THAT
SOMETHING HAPPENED HERE, THAT
SOMETHING WAS DIFFERENT HERE,
AND THAT WAS A SPACE AND TIME
THAT WAS DIFFERENT THAN ANY
OTHER SPACE AND TIME
AND I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, YOU
COULD REALLY SEE TRUMP NOT HOLDING THIS UNVEILING AS AN
HOLDING THIS UNVEILING AS AN
ACTIVE EERASURE OF THAT HISTORY.
BY DOING SO, HE ALMOST IS
ADMITTING THAT IT’S GREATER THAN
ANYTHING THAT HE COULD EVER TRY
TO BELITTLE.
>> VERY INTERESTING.
I ONLY HAVE 30 SECOND HERE AT
THE END OF OUR HOUR, BUT YOUR
WORK ALSO, IN DEALING WITH RACE
IN AMERICA, YOU TAKE A
PARTICULAR APPROACH TO THE
PALETTE AND HOW YOU WANT PEOPLE
TO SEE THINGS.
COULD YOU TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT
THAT BEFORE WE LET YOU GO?
>> WELL, YOU KNOW, WHEN I
STARTED MAKING THESE PIECES, I
REALLY WANTED TO MAKE WORK THAT
WAS GOING TO BE UNIVERSAL, THAT
COULD BE EMPLOYED IN MANY
DIFFERENT WAYS
REPRESENTATION IS IMPORTANT.
THESE IMAGES ARE BLACK FIGURES,
THE WAY THEY REPRESENT
INSTITUTIONS IS IMPORTANT.
I ALSO NEED THEM TO BE RELATABLE
TO ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE
OFTENTIMES IMAGES ARE THE ONLY
WAY WE ENCOUNTER EACH OTHER.
IT’S IMPORTANT THAT WE’RE ABLE
TO SEE EACH OTHER IN DIFFERENT
WAYS
FOR ME AS A BLACK WOMAN, TO WALK
INTO A MUSEUM AND SEE A
REPRESENTATION OF MYSELF, THAT’S
POSITIVE
FOR SOMEBODY ELSE WHO MAY HAVE
NO OTHER INTERACTION WITH PEOPLE
OF COLOR TO WALK INTO A MUSEUM
AND SEE THE SAME THING, IT MAKES
A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN OUR PSYCHE.
>> IT’S REALLY STRIKING.
THERE’S A LOT OF THOUGHT,
OBVIOUSLY, BEHIND YOUR WORK.
LEARNING MORE ABOUT IT, NOW THAT