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Glenn Beck, art critic, is back. The conservative commentator posted an online video Tuesday in which he addressed at length the subject of “obscene” art and the 1st Amendment. In an homage to Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ,” Beck concluded by dunking a likeness of President Obama in a mason jar filled with a clear yellow liquid.
Beck offered to sell the work, titled “Obama in Pee Pee,” for $25,000. “It’s all protected by this document,” he said, pointing to a copy of the Constitution.
“So whether you’re offended by this one or by this one,” Beck said, pointing to various examples of controversial art, “it sucks to be you, doesn’t it?”
Beck was inspired by a recent painting depicting Obama as a crucified Christ figure. In the video he also referred to Chris Ofili’s “The Holy Virgin Mary,” a painting that used elephant dung to portray the mother of Jesus; Lucian Freud’s nude portrait of an obese civil servant; and several others.
“Here’s the thing: I don’t like any of these paintings,” he said. “But they have a right to be [at a museum].”
Affecting a French accent, Beck questioned whether liberal art critics would show the same level of tolerance for art with politically conservative themes. He then submerged the Obama figurine in the jar of “pee-pee.”
Beck’s previous forays into armchair art criticism include discourses on Diego Rivera’s mural for New York’s Rockefeller Center and the design for the Washington Monument.
ALSO:
Glenn Beck’s art criticism explained
Glenn Beck puts on his tin-foil art critic’s hat -- again
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June 2, 2024
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David Ng is a former Company Town reporter for the Los Angeles Times.
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