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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Hot Tip

Posted by on Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 11:07 AM

This is the single greatest work of art ever and I feel it must be shared with the world. His use of symbolism is nothing short of amazing.

Thank you, John Charles McKee.

 

Comments (48) RSS

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Fnarf 1
The little kid is pointing at the passage that assigns slaves the value of three-fifths of a person, right?
Posted by Fnarf http://www.facebook.com/fnarf on October 6, 2009 at 11:10 AM
PedestrianMe 2
The allegory is back!
Posted by PedestrianMe http://carfreeusa.blogspot.com on October 6, 2009 at 11:16 AM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 3
R-i-i-i-g-h-t. Greater than the Sistine Chapel, the Mona Lisa, or the Pieta. Sure thing. (BTW, that scraggly-looking hippie guy on the right sure does dress funny.)
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on October 6, 2009 at 11:21 AM
4
I'm pretty sure Thomas Payne should be in the lower right corner with Mr. Hollywood, Liberal News Reporter and Satan.
Posted by Jk on October 6, 2009 at 11:22 AM
5
The "mother" is holding a "handicapped child" because...?
Posted by dirge on October 6, 2009 at 11:27 AM
sirkowski 6
Is that the tree of Gondor on Jesus' chest?
Posted by sirkowski http://www.missdynamite.com on October 6, 2009 at 11:29 AM
7
I'm speechless. Great art moves the soul, but this has just moved me over to the grate -- I need to puke.
Posted by spudbeach on October 6, 2009 at 11:29 AM
DOUG. 8
I'm pretty sure Thomas Paine didn't spell his name with a "Y".
Posted by DOUG. http://www.dougsvotersguide.com on October 6, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Aislinn 9
@5: I also find the handicapped child confusing. It's just the back of the baby's head, there is no indication that he's handicapped except for the fact that he's tagged "handicapped child." Why doesn't he get a fancy description like the others? And why does looking at a handicapped child make the pregnant woman hopeful?

And JFK is standing up there with Jesus? Seriously?
Posted by Aislinn on October 6, 2009 at 11:33 AM
starsandgarters 10
I like how he mashed Martin Luther King, Jr. into the American soldier. I mean, the two are totally the same, right?
Posted by starsandgarters on October 6, 2009 at 11:37 AM
lark 11
Good Morning Jen,
Great work of art? Not so much. Interesting how McNaughton impugns lawyers. Very heavy handed. Yes, it is a work of evangelism more than anything else. Reminds a little of one of the nost famous American paintings ever (just the image of Christ that's all), Warner Sallman's "The Head of Christ":

File:The_Head_of_Christ_by_Warner_Sallma…">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_He…

I don't understand McNaughton's point. I am pretty certain advocates ranging from
Thomas More to Clarence Darrow would be baffled and irritated by this work ("One Nation Under God").
Posted by lark on October 6, 2009 at 11:37 AM
gloomy gus 12
I'd hit Nathan Hale in a heartbeat. I like a center part every now and again.
Posted by gloomy gus on October 6, 2009 at 11:42 AM
13
From the Immigrant: Why does he have his hand up like that? There are many good people in America, they are not all Christian. I wanted him to have a look of shock when he realizes where the source of America's greatness comes from as he sees Christ holding the Constitution. We live in a country were(sp) we are free to worship as we please.

Apparently we have to put up with heathen immigrants until Jesus get backs. Then he'll learn em good.
Posted by dirge on October 6, 2009 at 11:42 AM
schmacky 14
Are the people weeping supposed to be liberals? Or art critics?
Posted by schmacky on October 6, 2009 at 11:43 AM
15
@8, he spelled it both ways.
Posted by Jk on October 6, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Trouble 16
Palin brought handicapped children into style.

I also like how he turned MLK, who advocated pacifism and non-aggression, into a soldier.
Posted by Trouble on October 6, 2009 at 11:44 AM
Max Solomon 17
he LIKES jefferson? that overly-educated liberal miscagenator who sliced up bibles and included phrases like "general welfare" and "pursuit of happiness" in our founding documents?
Posted by Max Solomon on October 6, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Wicked Virgin 18
Satan looks like William Sadler as Death, from Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

http://application.denofgeek.com/images/…
Posted by Wicked Virgin http://userscripts.org/tags/slog on October 6, 2009 at 11:47 AM
leek 19
He also misspelled Douglass's name, but he's just a black guy after all.
Posted by leek on October 6, 2009 at 11:47 AM
20
i see FDR isn't there among our greatest presidents, even though he got us out of the depression, won a world war, created some of the essential programs our government is most known for, like social security. i guess that's cuz he was a dirty crippled socialist. obviously.

but good thing he didn't forget the "great communicator", who thought ketchup was a vegetable, and bankrupted the government on a missile program, based on a science fiction movie, that didn't even work.
Posted by bigmouth8 on October 6, 2009 at 11:49 AM
DavidG 21
It's a great work not because of its greatness but because of its naive purity. Rarely do you see the conservative American mythos spelled out so comprehensively and idealistically at the same time. It's the Sarah Palin/Glenn Beck crowd's self-image perfectly projected onto canvas: Jesus as consummate American. For that reason alone, it's fascinating and captivating, though not for the reasons the artist intends it to be.
Posted by DavidG http://portableshrines.com on October 6, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Banna 22
@5: the disabled child is there as a device for the pregnant mother in the "bad" corner who's noticing how "strong" the mother with the disabled child is for not aborting it.
Posted by Banna http://www.ucp.org on October 6, 2009 at 11:55 AM
slaggy 23
I also like how he mashes WWII, Korea and Vietnam together.
Posted by slaggy http://www.videowatchdog.com on October 6, 2009 at 12:05 PM
translinguistic other 24
I realize I'm being one of those condescending, liberal elitists when I say this, but it looks like our friend could use a class in semiotics in addition to that spelling lesson. A 'symbol' is by definition something that represents something else. The figures in this image represent themselves. This picture could not be more LITERAL. (It matches their reading of the Bible.)

Posted by translinguistic other on October 6, 2009 at 12:05 PM
25
@6 - that was my first thought too - "why is Aragorn symbolizing Jesus?"
Posted by fletch on October 6, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Scholar of violence 26
Is this the final scene in the upcoming film "2112?" If that's the case, shouldn't Christ be portrayed by Will Smith?
Posted by Scholar of violence on October 6, 2009 at 12:07 PM
27
Man, I'm so ready for Roland Emmerich to make a film based on 2112.
Posted by Garth B on October 6, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Superfrankenstein 28
Jesus Indian-killing slave-owning Christ on the cross!
Posted by Superfrankenstein http://twitter.com/TomPeyer on October 6, 2009 at 12:27 PM
Fifty-Two-Eighty 29
I'm sure 2112 will be way better than 2012. But I heard they couldn't get Will Smith, so you'll have to settle for Will in Seattle instead.
Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty http://www.nra.org on October 6, 2009 at 12:30 PM
30
he's a mormon. i can tell from the pixels and having seens some mormons in my time.
Posted by jns on October 6, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Scrabbleship 31
No, this work of art is greater:
http://www.brandonbird.com/lazysunday.ht…
Posted by Scrabbleship on October 6, 2009 at 12:42 PM
dangerkitty5000 32
24 FTW! (It reminds of a Homer Simpson quote from the show's spoof of The Departed: "The rat symbolizes obviousness!")

Also-- I love how the pregnant woman in the "bad" corner is contemplating NOT getting an abortion.
Posted by dangerkitty5000 http://www.ababblingbrookofbullshit.blogspot.com/ on October 6, 2009 at 1:17 PM
33
This painting was painted over a BEAUTIFUL Thomas Kincaid landscape that had a cabin with smoke coming out of it's chimney.
Posted by Paul Pauper on October 6, 2009 at 1:43 PM
Fool multitude 34
Little boy to Christ figure "Hey, mister, I don't see you or your dad mentioned anywhere on this paper."
Posted by Fool multitude on October 6, 2009 at 1:48 PM
Fool multitude 35
@32. Well, that pregnant woman is a lesbian who works for Green Peace and she did the turkey baster method of impregnation with sperm gathered from a gay black man; that's why she's in the evil corner (which happens to be on the right side of the picture - isn't all evil on the left?).
Posted by Fool multitude on October 6, 2009 at 1:55 PM
Betsy Ross 36
The real question is how many prints of this have been sold?
Posted by Betsy Ross on October 6, 2009 at 2:44 PM
37
MLK jr. was a pacifist and an outspoken critic of the vietnam war.
Posted by SeMe on October 6, 2009 at 2:54 PM
38
In the bottom left, the "college student" is holding a copy of "The Five Thousand Year Leap" by Cleon Skousen.

"Beck's favorite writer and the author of the bible of the 9/12 movement, "The 5,000 Year Leap." A once-famous anti-communist "historian," Skousen was too extreme even for the conservative activists of the Goldwater era, but Glenn Beck has now rescued him from the remainder pile of history, and introduced him to a receptive new audience."

I think this pretty much tells you all you need to know. : )

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/0…
Posted by Duvall-ite on October 6, 2009 at 3:13 PM
N 39
Here's a better explanation of the symbolism: http://www.shortpacked.com/McNaughton%20…
Posted by N on October 6, 2009 at 5:09 PM
sonyalea 40
All art must come with the handy decoder! Otherwise, I might not have noticed the rampant ridicule and amusement in "Mr. Hollywood." So rich. Bless you, Liberal News Reporter (trying to shape Americans in that direction.)
Posted by sonyalea http://workingwild.blogspot.com on October 6, 2009 at 5:53 PM
COMTE 41
@35:

Teh Bad Peoplez iz on Jeebuz' left. The painter obviously has put himself in Jeebuz position, and is viewing the scene from that perspective.

@39:

Whew! It totally makes sense now! For a second there, I didn't get that this painting was SUPPOSED to be a parody!

...
Posted by COMTE http://www.chriscomte.com on October 6, 2009 at 11:05 PM
Knat 42
@24: It looks like he could probably use another class or two in the basics of painting too, specifically learning how to depict the source of light in a scene. Half of the people in this picture are illuminated by Jesus, while others (most notably Honest Abe, who is right next to him, are being lit from something off to the right.

Also, I love how he glorifies the college student and the teacher, but vilifies the college professor. And how some of the fifty stars representing the states shine brighter than others. At least he didn't make them red and blue.
Posted by Knat on October 6, 2009 at 11:27 PM
43
Blech!
Posted by Manthony on October 7, 2009 at 1:15 AM
NumberOne 44
The slog link didnt work so I am checking out it here:

http://www.shortpacked.com/McNaughton%20…

Are we reading the same captions? Cause these ones are funny and I had no idea it was supposed to be a conservative piece until I read through the slog comments. I thought it was satire.
Posted by NumberOne on October 7, 2009 at 11:57 AM
NumberOne 45
Oops, I just reloaded the page and saw @ 39- I had a feeling the shortpacked link didn't have the same captions as the original.
Posted by NumberOne on October 7, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Uriel-238 46
The SLOG link abbreviator sometimes doesn't work, but anchoring hasn't failed me yet.

Original flavor.
Extra Crispy.

Lessons for the day: The supreme court is Eeeevil.
And Jesus is Whiiiite.
Posted by Uriel-238 on October 8, 2009 at 12:10 AM
47
@46 - The Extra Crispy version is a work of pure genius. Thank you, sir.
Posted by Sylvie on October 8, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Geni 48
I like how they have John Quincy Adams in there - you know, the guy who took the oath of office on a book of common law, instead of the Bible, to preserve the separation of church and state?

Apparently, FDR doesn't make the list with this peabrain.
Posted by Geni on October 8, 2009 at 5:03 PM

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