Why Does George W. Bush Paint (and Why Do We Look)?

When former President George W. Bush’s self-portraits in the shower and tub slipped into public sight a year ago, the general critical approaches either commented on the amateur quality of the work, on the obvious symbolism of cleansing (if you were a critic and thought he had something to cleanse himself of), or on both. Bush allegedly took up painting less than a year before the revelations, making him the most viewed
art rookie of modern times. Now, in a new exhibition at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum titled The Art of Leadership: A President’s Personal Diplomacy, Bush puts his artwork out there for comment on his own terms. The art’s still amateurish, but the content—portraits of “41” and “43,” as the Bushes refer to themselves, as well as other world leaders—cries out for commentary beyond the brushwork. Why “W.” paints remains a bit of a mystery that he hasn’t fully cleared up. But why we look says as much about his legacy as it does about our continuing struggle to come to grips with it. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Why Does George W. Bush Paint (and Why Do We Look)?"

Is the American Editorial Cartoon Making a Comeback?

A little over a year ago, I wrote about The Herb Block Foundation’s gloom and doom report titled The Golden Age for Editorial Cartoonists at the Nation’s Newspapers is Over. Founded by legendary editorial cartoonist, Herbert Block, aka, Herblock, The Herb Block Foundation strives mightily to keep the tradition of the American editorial cartoon alive. Bound to the rapidly dying corpse of the American newspaper industry, American editorial cartooning seemed headed for the grave. News that Dan Perkins, aka Tom Tomorrow (some of his work shown above), will receive the 2013 Herblock Prize, however, might be a sign that the American editorial cartoon is making a comeback—not dying on dead trees, but coming alive with new technologies and social media. The phrase “see you in the funny pages” might be more of a thing of the past than ever. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Is the American Editorial Cartoon Making aComeback?"

[Image: Dan Perkins, aka Tom Tomorrow. “The Return of Droney” (detail, click here for full comic), This Modern World, October 1, 2012.]  
[Many thanks to Dan Perkins, aka Tom Tomorrow, for his permission to run the image shown above.]