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| Obamas reveal modern art tastes | Obamas reveal modern art tastes |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| US President Barack Obama and his wife have decorated their private rooms and the Oval Office with a range of modern and abstract art, the White House says. | US President Barack Obama and his wife have decorated their private rooms and the Oval Office with a range of modern and abstract art, the White House says. |
| They began selecting pieces before January's inauguration, but the list of borrowed works has just been released. | They began selecting pieces before January's inauguration, but the list of borrowed works has just been released. |
| New pieces by contemporary African-American and Native American artists are on display, as well as established artists such as Mark Rothko. | New pieces by contemporary African-American and Native American artists are on display, as well as established artists such as Mark Rothko. |
| The works add to the extensive permanent White House art collection. | The works add to the extensive permanent White House art collection. |
| The First Couple worked with California decorator Michael Smith and White House curator William Allman to select the works. | The First Couple worked with California decorator Michael Smith and White House curator William Allman to select the works. |
| The scope of the modern work exceeds that hung by previous White House occupants, Mr Allman said. | The scope of the modern work exceeds that hung by previous White House occupants, Mr Allman said. |
| "The first lady had clear ideas about what they were aiming for. | "The first lady had clear ideas about what they were aiming for. |
| MARDELL BLOG Catlin apparently admired Native American culture and felt he was recording a great culture on the edge of destruction, so perhaps they are making a political point. Mark Mardell BBC North America editor Mark Mardell on the White House art | |
| "They knew their tastes, and Michael Smith knew a lot about their tastes," he said. | "They knew their tastes, and Michael Smith knew a lot about their tastes," he said. |
| The art is only being hung in private rooms and offices as any changes to the historic public spaces - such as the Blue Room or the State Dining Room - must be approved by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. | The art is only being hung in private rooms and offices as any changes to the historic public spaces - such as the Blue Room or the State Dining Room - must be approved by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House. |
| The items include patent models for a gear cutter and a steamboat paddlewheel, placed in the Oval Office. | The items include patent models for a gear cutter and a steamboat paddlewheel, placed in the Oval Office. |
| The couple chose Edward Ruscha's I Think I'll ..., which superimposes phrases such as "I think I'll ..." and "maybe ... no" on top of a red sunset. | The couple chose Edward Ruscha's I Think I'll ..., which superimposes phrases such as "I think I'll ..." and "maybe ... no" on top of a red sunset. |
| As well as works by famous artists such as Jasper Johns, lesser-known artists such as Alma Thomas, an African-American abstract painter of the 1960s and 1970s, have been chosen. | As well as works by famous artists such as Jasper Johns, lesser-known artists such as Alma Thomas, an African-American abstract painter of the 1960s and 1970s, have been chosen. |
| A "text painting" by Glenn Ligon reproduces words from 1961 book Black Like Me, a non-fiction account by a white man who disguised himself as a black man and travelled through the South. | A "text painting" by Glenn Ligon reproduces words from 1961 book Black Like Me, a non-fiction account by a white man who disguised himself as a black man and travelled through the South. |
| One New York art dealer described the Obamas' choices as "highly sophisticated". | One New York art dealer described the Obamas' choices as "highly sophisticated". |
| The curator of modern and contemporary art at the National Gallery, where many of the items came from, said it was "great art to live with". | The curator of modern and contemporary art at the National Gallery, where many of the items came from, said it was "great art to live with". |
| Curator Harry Cooper said: "A lot of it is challenging. There are different styles: figurative art, abstract art. A lot of it is avant-garde: it was avant-garde, and a lot of it still is avant-garde." | Curator Harry Cooper said: "A lot of it is challenging. There are different styles: figurative art, abstract art. A lot of it is avant-garde: it was avant-garde, and a lot of it still is avant-garde." |