We Paint the Town Obama

We went to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. to look at the recently installed portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama. The paintings--Barack's by Kehinde Wiley, Michelle's by Amy Sherald--prompted both rapture and controversy when they were unveiled in February, and we wanted to see them in person to try to evaluate our own responses. As we traveled through the gallery from George Washington to Obama, we discussed what portraits can tell us about presidential power. And then we lingered at Barack and Michelle's portraits, admiring their beauty, trying to decipher their meaning, and allowing ourselves to be deeply moved. Come linger with us.

Discussed this week:

“MoviePass launches a new division to acquire and distribute movies” (Lizzie Plaugic, The Verge)

“Jordan Peele’s X-Ray Vision” (Wesley Morris, The New York Times)

“Jordan Peele Dedicates Original Screenplay Oscar To Those ‘Who Raised My Voice’” (Dawn C. Chmielewski, Deadline)

“What’s An Inclusion Rider? Here’s The Story Behind Frances McDormand’s Closing Words” (Colin Dwyer, NPR)

“Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph, 2019 Oscar Hosts?” (Sopan Deb, The New York Times)