Culture: Museum bars bare-bottomed Bush
A participant in a blog discussion recently said he finds it difficult to watch Dick Cheney on television. The vice president reminds him of the numerous, smarmy, self-satisfied, politically reactionary men he has met over the years. Having had enough exposure to the people auteur Michael Moore refers to as "stupid white men," he opts out.
Visitors to a museum in Washington will not have a choice. They will not get the opportunity to see the the president, George W. Bush, let it all hang out. The news comes from the Associated Press.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A cartoonish painting of President Bush in the nude has been taken down from the wall at the City Museum of Washington. The picture, called ``Man of Leisure, King George,'' adopts the pose of a famous Impressionist painting, Edouard Manet's ``Olympia,'' that scandalized Paris in 1863, and now hangs in the Gare d'Orsay Museum in Paris.
The painting by local artist Kayti Didriksen, shows a caricature of Bush, reclining in the nude on a chaise lounge, his head propped up by pillows.
Instead of the female servant who stands behind Olympia's couch, a man in suit and tie resembling Vice President Dick Cheney stands nearby, holding a cushion with a crown and a miniature oil rig on top of it.
The painting was part of a ``living room art'' show called ``Funky Furniture'' - a variety of painted furniture and other items that were set up in the museum last week.
Expected to formally open this month, the show, including the Bush painting, was abruptly shut down Monday after some of the artists' themes were considered unsuitable.
It is unclear whether the museum receives federal funds and could suffer repercussions if the painting, and other politically charged items, are displayed. It is run by the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. The artists are looking for a new home for Funky Funiture.
