George W. Bush 2007: A Life in Art

"I am the great Isis..." Odilon Redon 

 

I sense a change coming in the work of the artist, George Bush. After a lifetime spent in the shadow of his father, during which his contemporaries demeaned him with the nickname "Little Boots" or "Caligula", we sense that he is finally coming into his own. The years 2002 through 2006 saw the influence of Goya. Indeed, we term this period "El Sueno de la Razon" which indeed produced many masterpieces, as well as the seemingly obligatory Goyaesque "monstruos".

However, as Harry Truman once said, "If you can't stand the nightmares, get outta the bedroom!" In 2007 we shall see the inception of a period of works inspired by Odilon Redon. This may be the "Great Isis" period, influenced also by a series of poems of Richard Cheney's on Lyndie Englund entitled "Abu Ghraib Wa Umm Gitmo" ( Father Ghraib and Mother Gitmo).

The debt that Bush owes to the Symbolists becomes manifest. The Imagery of Death, especially Death untimely-that of innocents-plays a central role. It is a link which ties together Bush and Redon, as well as Flaubert and Huysmans. Redon's "Grand Isis" hints at disturbance and confusion. Nothing is clear, whether Isis and Harpocrates are stepping into a flower of evil or a portal to divinity. It brings to mind Cleopatra and Caesarion, similarly poised on the brink; ultimately they fell into untimely death. Yet, it is this very lack of clarity which defines and delimits the works of Bush.
This confusion takes us from the mundane and opens a new world of perception, a higher world, as evidenced in the accompanying illustration of "Eye Balloon", a rising to new heights and new glories.

"Eye Balloon" Odilon Redon

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