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Duyba's grasp of his best-loved painting's meaning: utterly wrong



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It'll come as no surprise to hear that George W. Bush's factual grasp on something is completely flawed but this time it's fine art - not a subject Dubya's usually associated with.

Since his post drink and drugs renaissance as a 'born again Christian', Bush has sung the praises of a painting entitled 'A Charge To Keep' (pictured) by the artist W.H.D Koerner. In fact, he likes it so much, he even named his own autobiography after it.

Here's what the man himself says about the meaning of the painting:
"When you come into my office, please take a look at the beautiful painting of a horseman determinedly charging up what appears to be a steep and rough trail. This is us. What adds complete life to the painting for me is the message ... that we serve One greater than ourselves."

Except, he's completely wrong. What Bush thinks is a picture depicting Methodists spreading the word across Virginia is actually an illustration of a horse-thief trying to escape a lynch mob.

Harper's puts it best: "So Bush's inspiring, prosyletizing Methodist is in fact a silver-tongued horse thief fleeing from a lynch mob. It seems a fitting marker for the Bush presidency."
richjm

20 responses // Duyba's grasp of his best-loved painting's meaning: utterly wrong

  • Amazing. Truth is stranger than fiction.
    willbpayne
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-oWLyn7wNQ
    That's it, it's final - George W. Bush is stupid. (Well, according to this video anyway)

    Are the views in this video a fair representation of Mr. Bush?
    mattbrawn
  • http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/8976/bushfaceat0.jpg
    Is it just me or does the facial features of the guy on the horse seem a little Bush-like? Could be another reason why he liked it...
    richjm
  • lol so funny =D
    echoz
  • Art is subjective. It is not uncommon for a work such as this to have many interpretations. Bush's quote at no point mentions religion or religious preference. While he is projecting his own meaning, so are you. And 96thdayofrage, before you judge another's intelligence, you may want to check your spelling.
    ElizabethChambers
  • I totally agree that art is subjective but if I looked at Da Vinci's painting of The Last Supper and said "Ok, to me that long-haired guy in the middle is Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam and everyone surrounding him is the rest of the band and assorted roadies," it would be fair enough for somebody to say "Well, ok but you're wrong".

    The meaning that refers to the horse rider as a convict on the run comes from the original, actual commission that formed the basis of the painting.

    Bush refers to religion when he says:

    "What adds complete life to the painting for me is the message ... that we serve One greater than ourselves."

    My own opinion is that he's read his own personal message into the meaning of the piece but then tried to qualify it with a misplaced 'message' that he's implied at various points came from the intentions of the artist.
    richjm
  • ElizabethChambers - the painter himself explained what his painting means, so there is no room for personal interpretation.

    Secondly, ".. that we serve One greater than ourselves." is indeed a religious expression.

    Finally, 96thdayofrage didn't make any spelling mistake, he simply used a popular colloquialism and mistook error for err, so kindly quit being the patronizing spelling nazi, please.
    Vierotchka
  • richjm...right on! Your piece and your response has truly captured the mind of some people. While art is subjective, there is the artists meaning in every rendering that must be appreciated in the interpetation.
    cibalin
  • yeah I agree with richjm =) (and the original writer of the article perhaps when he mentions that tolstoy syndrome) perhaps knowing the historical context, dubya might have chosen a better image to convey such a personal message the he offers his readers. although I don't at all disagree with the inspiration it gives him per se, it is, on the face of it, strangely subjective that someone could draw such inspiration from it...out of place I'd dare say. it's still very funny when you learn the original context of it's commissioning. nothing wrong with a little humor =) that's mostly what I get out of it.
    echoz
  • Uh, if you read the article, it says that this explanation of the painting came from the artist himself. Now interpret that statement. Obviously, lack of reading is what got Bush into more problems than this one.
    khsing
  • Vierotchka, You are pretty close to perfect!
    Marilynn_Murray
  • Marilynn_Murray, you shouldn't say such things to me - I might give in to temptation and believe them! :)
    Vierotchka
  • http://youtube.com/watch?v=TK0aAchdkAg
    was it before or after broke back mountain.
    phukna
  • Sort of funny? Sure.
    Does Bush come off as a stoopid-head when he speaks in public? Sure.

    But, even if the artist has a specific thing in mind with a piece - even a narrative painting - and even if that artist states what his intention with the painting is,
    it's still silly to berate someone for having a different interpretation of it.

    I don't mind when people interpret my art differently than I interpret it.
    Even if they know what I was thinking when making it, people's interpretations will always be at least somewhat different than my own intentions with it.
    One of the Super Cool things about art is that it goes through the filter of the viewer's own soul and experience, and can mutate into all sorts of things that it wasn't before.
    Taken completely objectively (Bush out of the equation, interpretation remaining), I'd be rather taken that someone could see all that in my painting of a pant-staining horse thief.


    Yes, it's entertaining when put into the "Bush-is-a-dumbass" bandwagon mentality,
    but come on now.
    There's plenty of legit stuff to laugh at him about.

    Man, I am not low at all.
    Humdrum
  • I think the reason we laugh over something as silly as his interpretation of the painting is because the other stupid things he says and does are often horrific.
    Marilynn_Murray
  • I have to ask, is Bush expressing what he sees in the picture as opinion, or is he expressing it as fact that someone would be foolish to argue with?
    Varex_Sythe
  • I find that description completely accurate. But then people perceive things differently and see things the way they want; maybe he was projecting.
    zazzykat
  • I agree with ElizabethChambers. Art is subjective. Why don't you guys just make a post titled "My George W. Bush Obsession"? I am guessing Harpers publishes such articles because there is such a large of people like you out there to buy into it. It is rather funny and hypocritical that you are misspelling so many words while putting down someone else’s mental intelligence. My advice is to at least use spell check before you decide to call someone else stupid.
    mjsmith11
  • Even spelling challenged people recognize stupid.
    Marilynn_Murray
  • richjm =D this is STILL good stuff lol =D
    echoz

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