Photo By Gail
Street art has a way of holding up a mirror to culture, and in Freeman Alley, that reflection comes in the form of Lisa Simpson — reimagined as the Statue of Liberty. The mural, by French street artist FREON , casts everyone’s favorite precocious saxophone player as Lady Liberty herself, torch raised high in the name of freedom, truth, and maybe a little sass (expected).
Continue reading Lisa Simpson as Lady Liberty in Freeman Alley
Photo By Gail
In her most recent paintings, Amy Sherald has responded directly to the increasing threats, violence, and legislation against gay, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people across the United States. This work, Trans Forming Liberty (2024) recasts the Statue of Liberty as a non-binary trans-femme person, radically redefining this iconic symbol of American freedom, and suggesting that the ideal of acceptance inscribed on the sculpture – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” from Emma Lazarus’s poem The New Colossus (1883) – be applied unequivocally to all citizens, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or other identifiers.
Photographed in the Whitney Museum in New York.
Photo By Gail
The unveiling of the portrait of President Barack Obama by Kehinde Wiley in 2018 was a historic moment. With the Obamas‘ selection of Wiley and Amy Sherald (who painted First Lady Michelle Obama’s portrait) to produce their official likenesses, these painters became the first black artist to receive the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery’s commission for portraits of a President or First Lady.
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Portrait of President Barack Obama By Kehinde Wiley