PLEASE STOP CANADA! We Are REALLY SORRY About That Pipeline Thing - But This Painting Effrontery!!!!

Selene · May 19, 2012

Baring it all: Painting of prime minister in the nude causes a stir

05/18/2012 | Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press

Part of a painting of Prime Minister Stephen Harper fully nude, by Kingston artist Maggie Sutherland, is shown at the Central Kingston public library...

It takes political transparency to a whole new level.

Canadians got an eyeful Friday as images of a painting depicting the prime minister in the nude went viral.

The large oil on canvas, which Stephen Harper did not pose for, is by Kingston, Ont.,-based artist Margaret Sutherland.

It shows the prime minister reclining on a chaise lounge wearing nothing but a subtle smile, surrounded by people in suits, whose faces can't be seen. A dog rests at his feet as a woman in business attire offers him what looks like a Tim Hortons cup on a silver platter.

The piece appeared to draw out the art critic in many Canucks.

"This is just too funny - think she painted him a bit skinny - he should really be wearing his vest," Myrtle Graham posted on Facebook.

"This made my day. Nude Stephen Harper is ART," tweeted Denise Balkissoon.

Other's weren't as amused: "Oh dear lord: may have to pluck eyes out now," tweeted Paula Schuck. "I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified," added Kelsey Rolfe.

The Prime Minister's Office also took to Twitter to voice a reaction to the piece.

"On the Sutherland painting: we're not impressed. Everyone knows the PM is a cat person," tweeted Harper spokesman Andrew MacDougall, referring to the canine on the canvas.

Others on Parliament Hill took a similar tongue-in-cheek approach.

"This is one case where I think we really do need a Conservative cover-up," said Liberal MP Scott Brison. "I guess you could say in this painting it's quite obvious that the Prime Minister has very little to hide."

For Sutherland, who completed the painting last year, the point of her piece was a satirical one.

"It was a sort of a culmination of some general frustrations of the federal government's policies and what they were telling us," said Sutherland, who has been particularly peeved with the government's elimination of the long form census and its closure of certain prison farms.

"The political message is to look for yourself and don't necessarily believe the party line."

The painting's title — Emperor Haute Couture — is also part of the pun as it carries a reference to "The Emperor's New Clothes," a tale by Hans Christian Andersen in which a vain king parades around naked, believing his new suit is so superior that it is invisible to those unfit for their positions in life.

"Satire is a great way to make valid social comment and have some fun at the same time," said Sutherland.

But while she often paints nudes, the 50-year-old added that her much-talked-about painting will likely be her only depiction of a politician.

The painting is priced at $5,000 and already has a few interested buyers.

It currently graces a wall at the Kingston public library as a finalist in the Juried Art Salon, a competition hosted by the Kingston Arts Council.

"The bemusement and the ironic value of the portrait is certainly appreciated by the adults in the community," said council president Joan Heaton, who called the painting a bold work of art.

The painting has, however, ruffled some feathers in the community, largely because of the fact that it is a nude work displayed in a room where children's recitals are held.

The library now covers up the piece when a children's program is under way and has it on full display at all other times until the end of the month.

"A lot of people think it is disrespectful," said chief librarian Patricia Enright. "We've also had comments from other people who are unhappy that we were covering it."

The library is trying to balance artistic creativity with the fact that the room is used by a range of people, Enright said.

But Sutherland feels covering her painting is too cautious a move.

"The point of the painting is not to show genitalia," she said. "Perhaps we need to have a discussion about public art and how careful we are of children's sensitivity."

Before it was displayed in Kingston and attracted the country's attention, the painting of the prime minister baring it all was first displayed last fall at Toronto's Edward Day Gallery, which represents Sutherland.

Gallery owner Mary Sue Rankin said amid all the hubub the painting has created, Sutherland's piece ultimately has a serious message about Harper not living up to his promises.

"There's no sensationalism in what's she's done," said Rankin. "She just painted her heart, painted her thoughts."

=======================================

There is more "detail" in this article and a video with the artist.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1181043--nude-portrait-of-stephen-harper-sex-themed-exhibit-turning-heads-in-ottawa

caroljane · May 19, 2012

Our PM is quite Rubenesque, nest-ce pas? I foresee a lot of US commissions for artist Diana.

PDS · May 19, 2012

Ms. Sutherland looks like she skipped the class on perspective. Either that, or our friend the PM is a hobbit.

caroljane · May 19, 2012

Maybe Beck could commission an Obama portrait to aid in May media virus transmission.

caroljane · May 19, 2012

Ms. Sutherland looks like she skipped the class on perspective. Either that, or our friend the PM is a hobbit.

No, an Orc. We dont need no effin American perspective!

Selene · May 19, 2012

Maybe Beck could commission an Obama portrait to aid in May media virus transmission.

As David Niven explained at the Oscars when, the streaker ran behind him, one of my personal favorite moments and one of the greatest as libs of ALL TIME, that would be another American President showing off his short comings...

[media=]

<<<unfortunately the YouTube embed is disabled at the poster's request which I will never understand ...

==================

Here is the Wiki on the streaker:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Opel

caroljane · May 19, 2012

Niven was aplomb personified. And a brave WWII soldier I believe.

Selene · May 19, 2012

Niven was aplomb personified. And a brave WWII soldier I believe.

At first, not quite Carol, but a hell of an attitude soldier!

Education and army service

English public schools at the time of Niven's boyhood were marked for their heavy-handed discipline. Niven himself suffered many instances of corporal punishment owing to his inclination for pranks, which finally led to his expulsion from Heatherdown at the age of 10½. This ended his chances for Eton, a significant blow to his family. He was sent to reform school, where the brutality reached even greater proportions, Niven later recounted. After failing to pass the naval entrance exam due to his difficulty with maths, Niven attended Stowe School, a newly created public school led by headmaster J.F. Roxburgh. Roxburgh was unlike any headmaster Niven had experienced. Thoughtful and kind, he addressed the boys by their first name, allowed them bicycles and encouraged and nurtured their personal interests. Niven later wrote, "How he did this, I shall never know, but he made every single boy at that school feel that what he said and what he did were of real importance to the headmaster".^[11]^[^{page needed}^] He then attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and graduated in 1930 with a commission as a second lieutenant in the regular Army.^[12] He did well at Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was to be his trademark.

Niven requested assignment to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders or the Black Watch; then jokingly wrote on the form, as his third choice, "anything but the Highland Light Infantry" (because the HLI wore tartan trews rather than kilts). He was assigned to the HLI, and his comment was known in the regiment. Thus Niven did not enjoy his time in the Army. He served with the HLI for two years in Malta and then for a few months in Dover. In Malta, he became friends with Roy Urquhart, future commander of the British 1st Airborne Division.

Niven grew tired of the peacetime Army. Though promoted to lieutenant on January 1, 1933,^[13] he saw no opportunity for further advancement. His ultimate decision to resign came after a lengthy lecture on machine guns, which was interfering with his plans for dinner with a particularly attractive young lady. At the end of the lecture, the speaker (a major general) asked if there were any questions. Showing the typical rebelliousness of his early years, Niven asked, "Could you tell me the time, sir? I have to catch a train."^[11]

After being placed under close arrest for this act of insubordination, Niven finished a bottle of whisky with the officer who was guarding him: Rhoddy Rose (later Colonel R.L.C. Rose, DSO, MC). With his connivance, Niven was allowed to escape from a first-floor window. He then headed for America.

While crossing the Atlantic, Niven resigned his commission by telegram on September 6, 1933.^[14] Niven moved to New York, where he began an unsuccessful career in whisky sales and horse rodeo promotion in Atlantic City. After subsequent detours to Bermuda and Cuba, he finally arrived in Hollywood in the summer of 1934.

============================

World War II service

After the United Kingdom declared war in 1939, Niven returned to Britain and rejoined the Army. He was alone among British stars in Hollywood in doing so; the British Embassy advised most British actors to stay, many were over the age for military service and did not have Niven's military education and experience.^[16] Niven was re-commissioned as a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade on 25 February 1940,^[17] and was assigned to a motor training battalion. But he wanted something more exciting, and transferred into the Commandos. He was assigned to a training base at Inverailort House in the Western Highlands. Niven later claimed credit for bringing future Major General Sir Robert Laycock to the Commandos.

David Niven commanded "A" Squadron GHQ Liaison Regiment, better known as Phantom.

Niven also worked with the Army Film Unit. He acted in two films during the war, The First of the Few (1942) and The Way Ahead (1944). Both were made to win support for the British war effort, especially in the U.S. Niven's Film Unit work included a small part in the deception operation that used minor actor M. E. Clifton James to impersonate Field Marshal Montgomery.

During his work with the Film Unit, Peter Ustinov, though one of the script-writers, had to pose as Niven's batman. (Ustinov also acted in The Way Ahead.) Niven explained in his autobiography that there was no military way that he, as a lieutenant-colonel, and Ustinov, who was only a private, could associate, save as an officer and his servant, hence their strange "act". Ustinov later appeared with Niven in Death on the Nile (1978).

Niven took part in the Invasion of Normandy, arriving several days after D-Day. He served in the "Phantom Signals Unit", which located and reported enemy positions, and kept rear commanders up to date on changing battle lines. Niven was posted at one time to Chilham in Kent.

Niven remained close-mouthed about the war, despite public interest in celebrities in combat and a reputation for storytelling. He once said: "I will, however, tell you just one thing about the war, my first story and my last. I was asked by some American friends to search out the grave of their son near Bastogne. I found it where they told me I would, but it was among 27,000 others, and I told myself that here, Niven, were 27,000 reasons why you should keep your mouth shut after the war." Niven also had special scorn for the newspaper columnists covering the war who typed out self-glorifying and excessively florid prose about their meagre wartime experiences. Niven stated, "Anyone who says a bullet sings past, hums past, flies, pings, or whines past, has never heard one--they go crack!"^[11]

He gave a few details of his war experience in his autobiography, The Moon's a Balloon: his private conversations with Winston Churchill, the bombing of London, and what it was like entering Germany with the occupation forces. Niven first met Churchill at a dinner party in February 1940. Churchill singled him out from the crowd and stated, "Young man, you did a fine thing to give up your film career to fight for your country. Mark you, had you not done so − it would have been despicable."^[11]

A few stories have surfaced. About to lead his men into action, Niven eased their nervousness by telling them, "Look, you chaps only have to do this once. But I'll have to do it all over again in Hollywood with Errol Flynn!" Asked by suspicious American sentries during the Battle of the Bulge who had won the World Series in 1943, he answered "Haven't the foggiest idea . . . But I did co-star with Ginger Rogers in Bachelor Mother!"

Niven ended the war as a lieutenant-colonel. On his return to Hollywood after the war, he received the Legion of Merit, an American military decoration. Presented by Eisenhower himself, it honoured Niven's work in setting up the BBC Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme, a radio news and entertainment station for the Allied forces. ^[18]^[19]

caroljane · May 19, 2012

Wow, TY Adam, I did not know any Niven military facts. Career of a real man.

Selene · May 19, 2012

Wow, TY Adam, I did not know any Niven military facts. Career of a real man.

You are quite welcome Carol.

I did not know about his dual career in the military either. I liked both his pre WW II and WW II efforts.

caroljane · May 20, 2012

Baring it all: Painting of prime minister in the nude causes a stir
05/18/2012 | Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press
Part of a painting of Prime Minister Stephen Harper fully nude, by Kingston artist Maggie Sutherland, is shown at the Central Kingston public library...
It takes political transparency to a whole new level.
Canadians got an eyeful Friday as images of a painting depicting the prime minister in the nude went viral.
The large oil on canvas, which Stephen Harper did not pose for, is by Kingston, Ont.,-based artist Margaret Sutherland.
It shows the prime minister reclining on a chaise lounge wearing nothing but a subtle smile, surrounded by people in suits, whose faces can't be seen. A dog rests at his feet as a woman in business attire offers him what looks like a Tim Hortons cup on a silver platter.
The piece appeared to draw out the art critic in many Canucks.
"This is just too funny - think she painted him a bit skinny - he should really be wearing his vest," Myrtle Graham posted on Facebook.
"This made my day. Nude Stephen Harper is ART," tweeted Denise Balkissoon.
Other's weren't as amused: "Oh dear lord: may have to pluck eyes out now," tweeted Paula Schuck. "I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified," added Kelsey Rolfe.
The Prime Minister's Office also took to Twitter to voice a reaction to the piece.
"On the Sutherland painting: we're not impressed. Everyone knows the PM is a cat person," tweeted Harper spokesman Andrew MacDougall, referring to the canine on the canvas.
Others on Parliament Hill took a similar tongue-in-cheek approach.
"This is one case where I think we really do need a Conservative cover-up," said Liberal MP Scott Brison. "I guess you could say in this painting it's quite obvious that the Prime Minister has very little to hide."
For Sutherland, who completed the painting last year, the point of her piece was a satirical one.
"It was a sort of a culmination of some general frustrations of the federal government's policies and what they were telling us," said Sutherland, who has been particularly peeved with the government's elimination of the long form census and its closure of certain prison farms.
"The political message is to look for yourself and don't necessarily believe the party line."
The painting's title — Emperor Haute Couture — is also part of the pun as it carries a reference to "The Emperor's New Clothes," a tale by Hans Christian Andersen in which a vain king parades around naked, believing his new suit is so superior that it is invisible to those unfit for their positions in life.
"Satire is a great way to make valid social comment and have some fun at the same time," said Sutherland.
But while she often paints nudes, the 50-year-old added that her much-talked-about painting will likely be her only depiction of a politician.
The painting is priced at $5,000 and already has a few interested buyers.
It currently graces a wall at the Kingston public library as a finalist in the Juried Art Salon, a competition hosted by the Kingston Arts Council.
"The bemusement and the ironic value of the portrait is certainly appreciated by the adults in the community," said council president Joan Heaton, who called the painting a bold work of art.
The painting has, however, ruffled some feathers in the community, largely because of the fact that it is a nude work displayed in a room where children's recitals are held.
The library now covers up the piece when a children's program is under way and has it on full display at all other times until the end of the month.
"A lot of people think it is disrespectful," said chief librarian Patricia Enright. "We've also had comments from other people who are unhappy that we were covering it."
The library is trying to balance artistic creativity with the fact that the room is used by a range of people, Enright said.
But Sutherland feels covering her painting is too cautious a move.
"The point of the painting is not to show genitalia," she said. "Perhaps we need to have a discussion about public art and how careful we are of children's sensitivity."
Before it was displayed in Kingston and attracted the country's attention, the painting of the prime minister baring it all was first displayed last fall at Toronto's Edward Day Gallery, which represents Sutherland.
Gallery owner Mary Sue Rankin said amid all the hubub the painting has created, Sutherland's piece ultimately has a serious message about Harper not living up to his promises.
"There's no sensationalism in what's she's done," said Rankin. "She just painted her heart, painted her thoughts."
=======================================
There is more "detail" in this article and a video with the artist.
http://www.thestar.c...heads-in-ottawa

On dit que ce portrait sappelle en bilinuisme, :Le Full Mountie

caroljane · May 20, 2012

Timmys protests portrait also. a server wd never flip coffee lid for a nude customer - scald possibility, safety violation. Not allowed in totalitarian Canada!

Selene · May 20, 2012

Timmys protests portrait also. a server wd never flip coffee lid for a nude customer - scald possibility, safety violation. Not allowed in totalitarian Canada!

Carol:

I must admit, this is one bizarre story...wonder if William, or someone else, can find a picture of the total painting on-line? Why is he surrounded by headless figures as has been alluded to in the stories?

Why the dog?

I thought O'bama and Romney had dibs on dog memes?

Adam

caroljane · May 20, 2012

Timmys protests portrait also. a server wd never flip coffee lid for a nude customer - scald possibility, safety violation. Not allowed in totalitarian Canada!
Carol:
I must admit, this is one bizarre story...wonder if William, or someone else, can find a picture of the total painting on-line? Why is he surrounded by headless figures as has been alluded to in the stories?
Why the dog?
I thought O'bama and Romney had dibs on dog memes?
Adam

Likely facelessness refers to PMs well-known iron control over all public utterances by Conservative parliamentarians- Ive written about it before. As to canine I am stumped, as PM spokesman said, everyone is aware PM is a cat person.

Selene · May 20, 2012

Carol:

In Viking lore, a Vikings funeral is cremation, e.g., a boat being cast out to sea in flames and there is always, allegedly, a dog at his feet.

Beau Geste movie with Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and Brian Donlevy for example and the Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh film The Vikings. However, it does not make any sense in this context.

caroljane · May 20, 2012

Yes....ever read ..Afraid of Beowulf? btw (callout to NDoc too) it is a comedic masterpiece.

Selene · May 20, 2012

Yes....ever read ..Afraid of Beowulf? btw (callout to NDoc too) it is a comedic masterpiece.

No, but the dude has a web page! http://www.edlin.org...ks/beowulf.html

Who's Afraid of Beowulf?

The back of the book says:

Well, not Hrolf Earthstar, for a start. The last Norse king of Caithness, Hrolf and his twelwe champions are woken from a centuries-long sleep when Hildy Fredriksenn, archaeologist of the fairer sex, finds their grave. Not only that, Hrolf decides to carry on his ancient war against the Sorcerer-King.

In a mixture of P.G. Wodehouse, Norse mythollogy and Laurel and Hardy, Hildy and her Viking companions face such perils as BBC film crews, second-rate fish and chips and the Bakerloo Line in their battle agaainst the powers of darkness.

caroljane · May 20, 2012

I doubleplus recommend. It is a total classic from word one.

caroljane · May 20, 2012

I would love to know Laureens private comments. Apparently offrecord Mrs Steve is very drily witty and can be deliciously funny.

caroljane · May 20, 2012

It is said Laureen actually prompted some official reaction statements.

PLEASE STOP CANADA! We Are REALLY SORRY About That Pipeline Thing - But This Painting Effrontery!!!!

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