What is “Abraham Obama” ?

“Abraham Obama” is an artwork by Ron English. It is a image that blends the face of the presumptive unofficial Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama with the icon, bearded visage of Abraham Lincoln. The effect is subtle. At first glance, the image appears to simply be a portrait of Abraham Linclon. Then the viewer registers an oddity within the image, an imperfection which is a substitution. The eyes and facial structure of Obama seems to grow out of the icon of Lincoln.

“Abraham Obama” was commissioned by William Kerr, owner of Gallery XIV in Boston, Massachusetts for a show entitled “A Politic.” The original work, a small black white portrait, was enlarged and reproduced 11 times at a height of 12 feet. It was simultaneously treated with a Warholesque color scheme with foreground and background colors changing at the rate of a parabola.

The enlargements were mounted on sold wood staging located across Thayer Street from Gallery XIV.

Additionally, individuals posted smaller reproductions of “Abraham Obama” around Boston’s South End.

What “Abraham Obama” is is an open question. What composes the image is not the same as what the image represents. To that effect, we at abrahamobama.com challenge you, our digital visitor to tell us what you think the image means.

That dialog, between art, politics, and individuals, is what artist Ron English has said the work is really all about.

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