Controversial painting of President Obama offered for $300,000

A controversial painting showing President Obama holding a burning Constitution can now be yours to hang next to your moose head or wherever else you wish.

Utah artist Jon McNaughton told the site Buzzfeed this week that the asking price for original versions of the painting will be $300,000. The artist also told the site that Fox News host Sean Hannity has already purchased one of the three originals for "at least six figures." (McNaughton was a recent guest on Hannity's show.)

"One Nation Under Socialism" was unveiled in March and has caused a stir on the Internet. The politically conservative McNaughton stated on his website that he believes the U.S. has been moving in the direction of socialism for the last 100 years.

Times Art Critic Christopher Knight called the painting "junk," writing that it fails to illustrate or communicate the idea expressed in its title. "It's bad art because it does not create belief in the fiction that the artist has rendered. Instead, the artist's belief must be explained," he wrote.

This isn't the first time that McNaughton has attacked Obama in his art work. The artist has created paintings showing Obama stepping on the Constitution as the founding fathers look on in dejection and Obama addressing a crowd of people who are weighed down by chains.

Watch the video of McNaughton with Hannity:

Painting depicts President Obama with a burning Constitution

An artist in Utah is creating a bit of a stir for a painting he created that depicts President Obama holding a burning Constitution. The painting, "One Nation Under Socialism," was created by Jon McNaughton, a politically conservative artist who has written that he believes the U.S. has been moving in the direction of socialism for the last 100 years.

"One Nation Under Socialism" was unveiled late last week and has prompted heated invective on message boards and other online forums. The painting is the latest artistic salvo from McNaughton, who previously created a painting showing Obama stepping on the Constitution as the founding fathers look on in dejection.

He has also created a painting showing Obama addressing a crowd of people who are weighed down by chains.

Obamas attend groundbreaking for African American history museum

The Smithsonian Institution officially broke ground this morning on the National Museum of African American History and Culture, slated to open in 2015. Located on the National Mall, the Smithsonian's 19th museum will be a $500-million complex dedicated to documenting the life, art, history and culture of African Americans.

Though work had already begun on the site, Wednesday's fete marked the official start of construction and included remarks from President Obama, former First Lady Laura Bush, Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis -- an icon of the civil rights era -- and was emceed by actress Phylicia Rashad, best known for her role as Claire Huxtable in the 1980s sitcom "The Cosby Show."

The ceremony also included performances from opera singers Denyce Graves (who sang the national anthem, pictured above) and Thomas Hampson, as well as jazz pianist Jason Moran, who played Duke Ellington's "I Like the Sunrise."

Obama to speak at African American history museum’s groundbreaking

 
President Obama will speak at the official groundbreaking next week for the Smithsonian's new African American history museum in Washington, museum officials announced.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture will be situated on the National Mall and is expected to be completed by 2015 at an estimated price cost of $500 million, half of which is expected to be paid by the government.

Obama is expected to be joined at the Feb. 22 ceremony by former First Lady Laura Bush and by actress and director Phylicia Rashad.

The museum will document the life, art, history and culture of African-Americans. Work has already begun on the site, which is near the Washington Monument.

The fiscal 2013 federal budget proposed by the president this week calls for $857 million for the Smithsonian, including $85 million to continue construction on the museum.

Architect David Adjaye is the lead designer on the project, according to the museum. The architectural team consists of four firms -- Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates, Davis Brody Bond and SmithGroup.

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Photo: President Obama arriving in Los Angeles on Wednesday on a campaign fundraising trip. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Obama's 2013 budget calls for 5% increase for arts and culture

President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget, released Monday, calls for a 5% increase in spending for three cultural grantmaking agencies and three Washington, D.C., arts institutions.

Obama aims to boost outlays from $1.501 billion to $1.576 billion, encompassing the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities (NEA and NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Smithsonian Institution, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Gallery of Art.

The arts and humanities endowments each would get a 5.5% boost, to $154.255 million -- nearly restoring cuts announced in December. But if Congress approves the president’s proposal for the fiscal year that begins in October 2012, the NEA and NEH will still be well short of the $167.5 million each was set to receive before two separate rounds of cuts instigated by Congressional Republicans during 2011.

Obama is proposing $231.9 million for IMLS, a $439,000 reduction.

The Smithsonian Institution, by far the heavy hitter of federal cultural spending, would receive $856.8 million -- a 3.7% hike for its operating budget, which would rise to $660.3 million, and a 12.3% increase in capital expenditures, to $196.5 million. The biggest capital expense would be $85 million, to continue construction on the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Al Pacino, Andre Watts among National Medal of Arts winners

Actor Al Pacino, pianist Andre Watts, visual artists Will Barnet and Martin Puryear and art philanthropist Emily Rauh Pulitzer are among the winners of the 2011 National Medal of Arts, to be bestowed Monday by President Obama in a ceremony at the White House.

Also announced Friday were winners of the National Humanities Medal -- including classical music scholar Charles Rosen.

The ceremonies will be streamed live Monday at 10:45 a.m. (Pacific) on the White House website.

Pacino, famed for wide-ranging film and stage roles that include the sympathetic gay bank robber of “Dog Day Afternoon,” mob boss Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” trilogy, and Shakespeare’s Shylock and King Richard III, is being cited for his “signature intensity” and as “an enduring and iconic figure, who came of age in one of the most exciting decades of American cinema, the 1970s.”

Watts, who is not expected to attend the ceremony, according to the White House, is being recognized as “a perennial favorite with the most celebrated orchestras and conductors around the world,” his performances marked by “superb technique and passionate intensity.”

Barnet, a New York City painter and printmaker who turned 100 last year, was cited for “nuanced and graceful depictions of family and personal scenes” that are “meticulously constructed of flat planes that reveal a lifelong exploration of abstraction, expressionism and geometry.”

New budget plan cuts NEA and NEH 5.6% but boosts Smithsonian

The National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities each will see a 5.6% budget reduction in fiscal 2012 under a spending bill passed Friday in the House that's expected to prevent a feared government shutdown.

Under the bill, each agency would have $146.3 million to spend during the budget year that began in October, down from $155 million. It's the second cut this year for the two grant-making agencies, which began 2011 with budgets of $167.5 million. The combined cuts now total 12.7%.

Americans for the Arts, the national advocacy group that lobbies to maximize arts spending -– or at least to minimize arts-spending cuts -– said that $146.3 million is what President Obama had penciled in in his original budget proposal for the NEA and the NEH, representing a compromise between the $155 million suggested by the Senate and the $135 million proposed by the House during earlier subcommittee negotiations over the budget.

The Senate passed the spending bill Saturday morning, and it now moves to President Obama for his signature.

Obama family's White House holiday card is L.A. artist's design

When the Obamas wanted an artist to create their annual holiday greeting card, they turned to someone whose work they knew and trusted. Mark Matuszak is an artist, illustrator and concept designer based in Los Angeles who has worked for the first family before, creating illustrations for the White House interior design.

Matuszak said in a phone interview Thursday that he was contacted a few months ago by the White House social secretary, who asked him to create this year's holiday card.

"They wanted to do an inside shot, something home related," said Matuszak. One idea was to focus on Bo, the Obama family dog. "So we thought, let's put Bo in front of a fireplace."

Matuszak said the holiday card is the White House's first to be completely digitally designed. (In the past, he said, presidential holiday cards were based on photos, watercolor paintings or other analog forms.) The artist said he researched images of Bo and then created the original design using Photoshop.

The image, seen above, places Bo in front of the fireplace in the White House library with a poinsettia and other decorations. The inside of the card features the presidential seal along with a holiday greeting: "From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season."

The card is signed by the President and first lady, their daughters, Malia and Sasha, as well as Bo, the family's Portuguese water dog.

Matuszak said he has worked as a concept artist in various fields throughout his career. Originally from Pennsylvania, the 47-year-old artist resides in the Hollywood Hills. Here's a full view of the Obama holiday greeting card...

Obama to honor Harmony Project founder at White House

The Harmony Project is once again being honored at the White House.

Margaret Martin, who founded the L.A. organization that provides music education and instruments to disadvantaged youth, will receive the 2011 Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, in a ceremony scheduled for Thursday.

Martin is one of 13 recipients of the annual award, which includes two other people from Southern California: military veteran John Keaveney of L.A., who founded the New Directions home; and Judith Broder of Studio City, who created the Soldiers Project.

President Obama is expected to present the medals at the ceremony.

The Harmony Project was recognized at the White House in 2009 when First Lady Michelle Obama presented the group with the Coming Up Taller Award, which recognizes youth-oriented arts and humanities programs nationwide.

Founded in 2001, L.A.'s Harmony Project provides classical music education for low-income children. The organization is based in Hollywood but does much of its work with youth from the South Central area of L.A as well as other regions.

The Harmony Project is also one of the partners involved in the Los Angeles Philharmonic's YOLA Expo Center Youth Orchestra.

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Photo: A flute student practices as her friends watch before the first recitals of the Expo Center Children's Orchestra, which is a partnership that includes the L.A. Phil, the Harmony Project and others. Credit: Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times

Gay Men's Chorus of L.A. to serenade President Obama

The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles will perform for President Obama when he visits the L.A. area next week as part of a fundraising event for his 2012 reelection campaign.

Organizers said the chorus will sing at the House of Blues in West Hollywood on Monday. The event, hosted by actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson of the TV series "Modern Family," is a fundraiser that carries a hefty price tag for entry, ranging from $250 to $10,000. A number of Hollywood industry personalities are expected to attend Monday's event, which will also feature a performance from Grammy-nominated artist B.o.B.

The president's visit to L.A. will also include a stop at the Fig & Olive restaurant on Melrose Place, according to published reports.

The Gay Men's Chorus of L.A. said it has recently appointed a new artistic director, E. Jason Armstrong, who is currently a doctoral candidate in choral music at USC's Thornton School of Music.

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Photo: Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of L.A. Credit: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times