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Still Processing

We Paint the Town Obama

Still Processing

The New York Times

News Commentary, Society & Culture, News, Arts

4.89.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2018

⏱️ 38 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

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)

Transcript

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0:00.0

Holy s***.

0:02.0

So we've just rounded a corner.

0:04.0

Holy s***.

0:07.0

I'm sorry, but I wasn't expecting to

0:12.0

be as shocked by this portrait as I am.

0:15.0

It is shocking in its vibrancy.

0:18.0

I don't know why I've just put lipstick on to see her.

0:21.0

I'm so embarrassed.

0:24.0

You shouldn't be.

0:27.0

I'm Jenna Wortham.

0:28.0

I'm Wesley Morris and we're two writers

0:31.0

who are profoundly transfixed by this portrait of Michelle Obama.

0:37.0

This is still a processing coming at you from

0:41.0

the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC,

0:44.0

which has now been temporarily renamed the Michelle Lvon Robinson Gallery in Washington DC.

0:54.0

We're back.

0:56.0

We may have figured out by now this week's episode is very special.

1:00.0

We took a field trip down to Washington DC to look at the new portraits

1:04.0

of Barack Obama by Canday Wiley and Michelle Obama by Amy Sheryl that are now hanging in the National Portrait Gallery.

1:11.0

We went, we saw, we wept, we held hands.

1:15.0

We were just so moved.

1:17.0

We were so moved and we're going to go back there.

...

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