Michelle Obama As Imagined By A Talentless Artist Trying To Help

18 Sep, 2008 by John Hawkins

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You probably don’t know Daniel Edwards, but oh, you will remember his work. Remember this bust of Hillary Clinton?

Those of you who haven’t already hurled after seeing Hillary done up like a “wrinkled, effeminate man,” should probably turn your head before you look at this sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth,

Well now, Edwards is back with a Michelle Obama sculpture that is, as you’d expect, distinctively horrible,

The powerful clay work shows Mrs Obama in the style of an African Queen, wearing large hooped earrings and an “afro pick” comb in her Egyptian-influenced hairstyle.

An American flag is tattooed across her naked chest and the comb is decorated with pearls, the traditional garb of a First Lady, and an American Eagle.

The work, by controversial sculptor Daniel Edwards, is clearly a nod to both Mrs Obama’s ethnic roots and her position at the heart of American culture and politics.

As her husband, Barack Obama, battles to win the next US presidential elections, she has come under intense media spotlight, and has been likened to former First Lady Jackie Kennedy.

However, Edwards said: “The goal is to create a look for Michelle Obama that eliminates excessive comparisons to Jackie Kennedy.”

It’s incredibly tacky, makes Michelle Obama look like she just walked out of some village in Zimbabwe, and she’s definitely a lot flatter in real life than she is in that sculpture.

All in all, it’s hideous — but, distinctively hideous like the Clinton and Spears’ piece. Although I despise pretty much every big sculpture I’ve seen the guy do, I have to give him credit: he’s either a mad genius or so uniquely untalented that you can’t help but notice his work.

Although I don’t like any of his material and actually feel sorry for the people he sculpts, I do have to give Edwards credit for creating art that actually captures people’s attention and looks like something, as opposed to piles of randomly thrown together crap or shock art that passes for so much of modern art today.