"Incredibly Atrocious," Wrote Nixon on Modern Art

A portrait of 37th President Richard M. Nixon painted by Norman Rockwell in 1968. [Credit: National Portrait Gallery]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A 30-page memo released Monday by the National Archives reveals that the 37th President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, thought of modern art as "decadent" and "incredibly atrocious."

In a memo of January 26, 1970 to his Chief of Staff, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman, Nixon wrote, "As you, of course, know, those who are on the modern art and music kick are 95 percent against us anyway. I refer to the recent addicts of Leonard Bernstein and the whole New York crowd." He continued, "When I compare the monstrosity of Lincoln Center with the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, I realize how decadent the modern art and architecture have become."

Nixon went on to categorize modern art as something the "Kennedy-Shriver crowd" encouraged. "But I have no intention whatever of continuing to encourage it now," he declared. "P.S.," Nixon concluded, "I also want a check made with regard to the incredibly atrocious modern art that has been scattered around the embassies of the world." The embassies, he wrote, "were loaned some of these little uglies from the Museum of Modern Art in New York."

The 30-page modern art memo is among 280,000 pages of previously unseen documents, 12 hours of sound recordings and 7,000 images from the personal collection of White House photographer Oliver F. Atkins, all released this week by the National Archives and the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.

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"Incredibly Atrocious," Wrote Nixon on Modern Art

A D.C. Museum's Inflatable Baby-Blue Bubble

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The newly appointed director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Richard Koshalek, has announced his plans to erect an innovative seasonal structure over the museum's courtyard. The 145-foot-tall baby-blue balloon-like expansion would be inflated twice a year, in May and October. The new addition will house arts performances, film screenings, and conferences. Since the Hirshhorn building is situated on the National Mall, midway between the White House and the Capitol, the big whimsical bubble would temporarily change the current landscape into a more contemporary one. Koshalek has enlisted the New York design firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro for the project at an estimated budget of $5-million.

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Read More - In Washington, a Different Kind of Bubble | The New York Times

[Image: A Plan for the new Hirshhorn seasonal inflatable structure. Courtesy: Diller Scofidio + Renfro.]

A D.C. Museum's Inflatable Baby-Blue Bubble

Right-Wing Flails Over Obamas' Return of Controversial Painting

WASHINGTON D.C. — In early October, the White House released a list of 45 works of art chosen to adorn the walls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but just when it seemed the Obamas' taste in fine art couldn't be any more scrutinized, the dissension continues. A certain painting on the list - originally slated to hang in the First Lady's Office in the East Wing - has since been returned to the Hirshhorn Museum. As to why it was returned, therein lies the controversy.

Alma Thomas' 1963 painting entitled Watusi (Hard Edge) looks remarkably similar to Henri Matisse's The Snail, painted ten years prior. Rotate The Snail [shown above right] 90 degrees counterlockwise, use a cooler color palette and - ta da! Watusi [shown above left] emerges.

Imitation is certainly nothing new in the art world, in fact, for centuries artists have perfected their craft by more or less copying the masters who came before. Similarly, musicians remix songs and filmmakers remake movies. In this case, the two works are so blatantly similar that it would be hard to argue Thomas was doing anything but paying homage to Matisse. Of course, that didn't stop certain conservative bloggers from flailing accusations, saying the Obamas were either ignorant as to the vagrant plagiarism, or excusing it because Expressionist painter Thomas was an African-American. But a simpler, more reasonable explanation came from Mrs. Obama's deputy press secretary, Semonti Stephens: “This piece just didn’t fit right in the room. There’s no other reason. It really has nothing to do with the work itself.”

Alma Thomas was the first African American woman to have a solo exhibit at the Whitney Museum. Her painting Sky Light (1973) continues to hang in the Obama family's private quarters.

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Read More - The Obamas Return a Painting | Time.com

[Photo: Left - Alma Thomas. Watusi (Hard Edge), 1963. | Right - Henri Matisse. The Snail, 1953.]

Right-Wing Flails Over Obamas' Return of Controversial Painting

Obama Names Hollywood Actors, Musicians to Arts Panel

“The arts are not just a nice thing to have or to do if there is free time or if one can afford it. Rather paintings and poetry, music...design and dialogue, they all define who we are as a people and provide an account of our history for the next generation.” ~First Lady Michelle Obama

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- What do Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, actor Forest Whitaker, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and cellist Yo-Yo Ma have in common? They've all been given new jobs by President Barack Obama - serving on the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH). The arts panel consists of names from the arts and entertainment industries, many of whom are Hollywood celebrities, but none of whom are visual artists. Led by Honorary Chairman First Lady Michelle Obama, the PCAH strives "to connect the people of the United States with each other and with the rest of the world through dance, music, literature, painting and sculpture and heritage and cultural tourism."

Here is the full list of 25 appointees released by the White House on Monday:

1. J. Ricky Arriola
2. Madeleine Harris Berman
3. Richard J. Cohen
4. Paula Hannaway Crown
5. Christine Forester
6. Teresa Heinz
7. Victoria Strauss Kennedy
8. Bryan Lourd
9. Anne Luzzatto
10. Yo-Yo Ma
11. Liz Manne
12. Thom Mayne
13. Edward Norton
14. Sarah Jessica Parker
15. Andy Spahn
16. Jill Cooper Udall
17. Reginald Van Lee
18. Agnes Varis
19. Kerry Washington
20. Alexa L. Wesner
21. Forest Whitaker
22. Anna Wintour
23. Damian Woetzel
24. George C. Wolfe
25. Alfre Woodard 

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[Read More - President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts | Chicago Tribune]

Obama Names Hollywood Actors, Musicians to Arts Panel

Obamas Choose Art for the White House: The Final List Is Revealed

The White House has released the final list of 45 works of art that will adorn the walls of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during the Obama administration. Critics are busy scrutinizing their choices and speculating as to what the First Family's selections may imply. For instance, could it be that artist Ed Ruscha's masterpiece of indecision, I Think I'll..., (containing the words; "Maybe...Yes...", "Maybe...No..." and "On Second Thought"), is reflective of the President's own decision-making process?

WASHINGTON /AP/ -- You can't see it, but there's a quiet cultural revolution under way at the White House. The Obamas are decorating their private spaces with more modern and abstract artwork than has ever hung on the White House walls. New pieces by contemporary African-American and Native American artists are on display. Bold colors, odd shapes, squiggly lines have arrived. So, too, have some obscure artifacts, such as patent models for a gear cutter and a steamboat paddlewheel, that now sit in the Oval Office.

Working with California decorator Michael Smith and White House curator William Allman, the Obamas have borrowed dozens of works from various Washington museums and galleries, being sure to use only items that weren't already on display. "The first lady had clear ideas about what they were aiming for," Allman said.

Harry Cooper, curator of modern and contemporary art at the National Gallery, said the Obama's selections are exciting the art world and should provide a significant boost to the arts in general. "This is great art to live with," he said. "A lot of it is challenging. There are different styles: figurative art, abstract art. A lot of it is avant-garde: It was avant-garde, and a lot of it still is avant-garde."

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[Hirshhorn Museum (HM); National Gallery of Art (NGA); Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM); National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI); National Museum of American History (NMAH)]

LIST OF WHITE HOUSE ART

Located in the Residence:

JOSEPH ALBERS

■ Homage to the Square: Elected II (HM)

■ Homage to the Square: Midday (HM)

■ Study for Homage to the Square: Nacre (HM)

GEORGE CATLIN

■ A Crow Chief at His Toilette (NGA)

■ Camanchees Lancing a Buffalo Bull (NGA)

■ Mired Buffalo and Wolves (NGA)

■ Cheyenne Village (NGA)

■ Grizzly Bears Attacking Buffalo (NGA)

■ Game of the Arrow-Mandan (NGA)

■ A Foot War Party in Council-Mandan (NGA)

■ Ball-Play Dance-Choctaw (NGA)

■ Buffalo Chase, with Accidents (NGA)

■ Catlin and Indian Attacking Buffalo (NGA)

■ K’nisteneux Indians Attacking Two Grizzly Bears (NGA)

EDWARD CORBETT

■ Washington, D.C. November 1963 III (NGA)

EDGAR DEGAS

■ Dancer Putting on Stocking (HM)

■ The Bow (HM)

RICHARD DIEBENKORN

■ Berkeley, No. 52 (NGA)

NICOLAS DE STAEL

■ Nice (HM)

SAM FRANCIS 

■ White Line (NGA)

WINSLOW HOMER

■ Sunset (NGA)

JASPER JOHNS

■ Numerals, 0 through 9 (NGA)

WILLIAM H. JOHNSON

■ Booker T. Washington Legend (SAAM)

■ Children Dance (SAAM)

■ Flower to Teacher (SAAM)

■ Folk Family (SAAM)

GLENN LIGON

■ Black Like Me #2 (HM)

GIORGIO MORANDI

■ 2 Still Lifes (NGA)

LOUISE NEVELSON

■ Model for “Sky Covenant” sculpture (NGA)

SUSAN ROTHENBERG

■ Butterfly (NGA)

MARK ROTHKO

■ Red Band (NGA)

EDWARD RUSCHA

■ I Think I’ll . . . (NGA)

ALMA THOMAS

■ Sky Light (HM)

LEON POLK SMITH

■ Stretch of Black III (NGA)

UNKNOWN ARTIST

■ Chief Jumper of the Seminoles (NGA)

Located in the West Wing - Cabinet Room:

FRANK O. SALISBURY

■ President Harry S. Truman (Harry S. Truman Library)

Located in the West Wing - Oval Office:

LUCY M. LEWIS [Acoma Pueblo]

■ Vase (NMAI)

JERI RECORN [Caddo]

■ Bottle: Intertwining Scrolls (NMAI)

STEVE S. [Iroquois]

■ Jar (NMAI)

MARIA POVEKA MARTINEZ [San Ildefonso Pueblo]

■ Jar (NMAI)

SAMUEL F. MORSE

■ Telegraph Register patent model (NMAH)

JOHN A. PEER

■ Gear Cutter patent model (NMAH)

HENRY WILLIAMS

■ 1877 steamboat feathering paddlewheel patent model (NMAH)

Located in the East Wing:

ALMA THOMAS

■ Watusi [Hard Edge] (HM)

Not yet placed:

MARK ROTHKO

■ No. 17 / No. 15 (NGA)

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Read More -
CAPITAL CULTURE: Modern art hits 1600 Pa. Ave. | AP

In Pictures: Obamas' Art Choices | BBC News

Obamas Choose Art for the White House: The Final List Is Revealed