The third most remarkable feature — or the fourth, if you count Barack Obama’s hilarious pose reflected in the mirror as he falls back from a tiny Spider Man’s attack — of White House photographer Pete Souza’s viral snapshot of the U.S. President is a dark, column-like abstract sculpture near the image’s center whose title and maker remain a mystery.
Though its cylindrical form, rough textures, and wooden base initially conjured similar works by artists like Martin Puryear and Ursula von Rydingsvard, given what we know about the works the Obamas requested be loaned to the White House collection, our best guess is that the mystery artwork is one of Louise Nevelson’s column sculptures from the 1960s and ’70s.
However, we welcome fellow art detectives’ input on this matter: If you think you know what the artwork at the center of all this cuteness is, let us know in the comments.
— Benjamin Sutton
(Photo: Pete Souza/The White House. Via TIME.)
Tags: Barack Obama, Benjamin Sutton, Louise Nevelson, News, Pete Souza, Photography, White House
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Could it be a Nevelson Rainforest Column?
It certainly could! As far as we can tell, it’s most likely a Nevelson sculpture, but we’re perfectly prepared to be wrong on this one.
It’s a traditional Makonde carving that depicts hundreds of men and women standing on one-another’s shoulders. Carved in a uniquely dense wood Pao Preto ( African Blackwood/Mpelo/Mpingo) Most probably from Mozambique or Tanzania. My guess would be it came from Maputo and was made by one of the incredible resident sculptors at Museo Nacional d’Arte.
@Alex N Stewart: Good find. It does closely resemble traditional Makonde carvings — though it would have been loaned to the Obamas by a U.S. museum or collection.
What do you mean ‘though it would..’ ??
You enquired as to the carving’s identity. Again, definitely a Makonde piece – carved from one trunk of blackwood (including the blond base) –
It’s pretty inconsequential who it’s on loan from, there’re hundreds of dealers and collectors internationally who prize Makonde work for both their technical prowess and spiritual/conceptual vigour.. So it’s not at all surprising that POTUS has conmandeered one.
As a sidenote the majority of these artisan arists are exploited, marginalised and can’t afford bread or clean water for their families.. Ironic THOUGH that Obama has one in the Whitehouse.
I’m sorry to have shut you down like that but I’ve lived and carved with the Makonde, they took me in, gave me what little they had and welcomed me as a member of their family. I find it ludicrous and unfortunately not at all surprising that their uniquely powerful work is on display in a trillion-dollar establishment without them ever seeing any form of aknowledgment or tangible semblance of remuneration. Don’t you think it’s time their work was given the same scrutiny and attention as is given any Emin, Creed, Banksy, Weiwei or Newman? If the only obstacle is a mere lack of information surely it bears research and discussion – not a quick change of subject. You are BLOUIN•ARTINFO after all.
@Alex: Jumping to conclusions, are we? How do we know an artist was never paid a fair price for this particular work? All the evidence we have we have is an incidental appearance in a photograph.
@Erik: I think you’ve missed the point – your only interest here has been the value and proprietor of the commodity, not the thing that actually provides the value – which is acknowledgement of its creator and education about the work. Providence gave Ben the chance to turn something that was a simple fluff request was for the identity of the ARTWORK, and when provided it, Sutton thought it more important to figure out who lent it to POTUS than what it actually was.
Damn iPhone – essentially this could’ve gone from being mere fluff to a chance to write something real about some real art. Instead it’s become yet another art info pricing statistic. Who cares how much a Picasso replica goes for or how popular it is. I’m more interested in the painters who feel that they have to make bad copies in order to survive. See F for Fake – Orson Welles
And it’s a fair conclusion in so far as the shipping costs outweigh the purchasing price of indigenous work, you know as well as I that there’s an exorbitant markup and a huge market out there for anyone who can bring such work out of Africa.
All I want is for this to be what it is – a serendipitous opportunity for people to learn about Makonde culture and arts. Not a friggin oxfam/redcross ad
Hello, could we somehow identify the artist? I have done with many makonde sculptors, some of them were pronounced as dead in books.
I have never understood why a museum can display a big makonde sculpture which was carved by the creative artist for years and never put any name nor attribution.