The Obama Exhibition at Common Ground

The Obama art exhibition currently being held at Common Ground Cafe, is notably diverse.

By that I mean, the many stylistic and technical differences that make up this show, are striking, even though much of the show falls within the category of pop art.

Additionally, the show is diverse in terms of the artists themselves, who vary greatly, both in age, race and gender.

It seems that President Obama has caught the imagination of many, of all races and ages and this is reflected in this exhibition.

President Obama has quickly become a pop icon and already his image is appearing on all kinds of bric-a-brac, T-shirts and posters.

The inclusiveness of this show, reflects, in all the diversity of the participants, something of the inclusiveness of the political philosophy that President Obama seems to practise.

Sixteen artists responded to the invitation to participate in this show. Others, I understand, were invited but because of work pressures, reluctantly and regretfully had to decline.

I am not sure just where the other work would have been hung, had they agreed to exhibit, for the wall space at Common Ground is limited.

The sixteen who did participate, fill up the space completely, so it seems just about the right number of exhibitors.

As you enter the café, on your left, there is a portrait of Mr Obama by Antoine Hunt called "A Few Interesting People" it is what is called an interactive photographic design.

It is made up of many, very tiny portraits of those who were involved in the civil rights movement, but they all add up to the single portrait of the President.

There is a magnifying glass beside the portrait to assist the viewer in looking at all the details. Next along the wall and just around the corner is a unique photograph by Libby Cook-Toppan.

Every other artist in this exhibition chose to use an image of Mr. Obama in some kind of way, Ms. Cook Toppan, instead, depicted the concept of integration in a most effective way.

Hers is a photograph of two small hands, one black, the other white cupping a Bermudiana flower. You might well ask, what does that have to do with President Obama, but of course, his achievements have also impacted Bermuda.

Further around the corner, in the serving area of the café, is a drawing by Emma Ingham-Dounouk that depicts, not only the head of Mr. Obama but also details of several of his hand gestures.

If you have had opportunity to see the President speaking, you will realise that he very elegantly expresses himself, not only in words, but also in hand gestures.

The artist aptly named her work, "Speaking Hands." Nearby, is a fabric wall hanging by Lynn Morrell that continues the hand theme with a work called, "Reaching out".

Susan Pearson is exhibiting a unique piece, called, "Double four-ward Thinker", it is made by cutting and weaving together varying pieces of paper. The technique is called "Paper Scherenschnitte".

This is loosely translated from the German as scissor cut. This is just one example of all the many different techniques employed in this show.

Miles Manders, who first exhibited in last summer's BNG Biennial, is once again showing one of his ink drawings, a portrait of the President called, "The promise". Nearby is a watercolour by Peter Barnett called, "Hope." I understand this is Mr. Barnett's first portrait.

Gail Santucci-Palacio has chosen to create a cartoon for her entry in this show. This one asks, "I wonder if he is one of us."

Directly above is a poster-like portrait by Mikado Grant. I first saw this painting in the recent schools exhibition.

It is encouraging to see someone still in the school system exhibiting along with the more seasoned artists. I hope he keeps at his art, for he has obvious talent.

In a show dedicated to the new US President, inevitably portraits predominate. One unusual creation, is a multiple portrait, à la Andy Warhol, that is particularly colourful.

This is a B.R. Smith digital design called, ``Colours of Hope." Michael Hind has a surprising digital illustration of the President, called "Permission."

In appearance, this print comes across as a woodcut. It is a very clever take-off on this traditional printing technique.

I only recently came across the impressive work of Robert Rogers, who is presently exhibiting in the Bermuda National Gallery's "In Another Gear."

This is the BNG's showing of hand painted motorcycles. At Common Ground, Robert Rogers applies the same airbrush technique he uses in painting motorcycles to his striking depiction of President Obama.

This he calls, "Barack in 3D." On the south wall of the café, both Chris Grimes and Vernon Clarke employ traditional portrait painting techniques to create their impressions of Barack Obama. These stand out, for both use traditional oil paint in making their portraits.

They are the only artists in this show who do. Keisha Douglas is showing her photographs of Mr. Obama, that she made while he was on the campaign trail in Honolulu.

It was one of those holiday surprises, thus she names it, "Honolulu Holiday Surprise." Right next is an ink portrait by Erik Pearson done in the grid technique made famous by Chuck Close.

I understand that this young artist is fascinated with the work of Mr. Close and so am I, for the multiple techniques that Chuck Close uses are all, it seems, based upon an underlying grid.

It is impressive that in each grid square, the ink drawing, which has to have the correct tone value, in the end, when all the grids are drawn, adds up to a readable picture, in this case, of President Obama. This is one of the more exciting exhibitions being held in Bermuda right now.

It is one I definitely recommend seeing. It continues through May 1, 2009.