5.
17th of February, Sunday

I was interested in learning about the reaction of people to portraits after their presentation in the National Portrait Gallery. And before that, I want to mention that the former president and the first lady were standing in front of the paintings with broad smiles, as can be seen from the photographs taken, which makes them very different from their portraits. They were “here and now”, thanked the artists and communicated with people. I liked the comment by Michelle Obama, who said that young people, people of colour, who will come to the gallery and see these portraits will be affected by the fact that the images of people like themselves are in such a prestigious institution.

Many people wanted to get acquainted with the pictures lively. For some, this was proof that they were in the middle of the action. Well, of course! Look, I'm so cool, stand near the modern portrait of the US President! And with people around I can talk about how Barack Obama, performed in this style, looks like Beyonce, or how Michelle Obama’s painted face does not look like her real face.

The fact that people quickly bought the Obama merchandise in the early days suggested to me that it is essential for people to have a piece of some famous, well-known “thing” or a copy of it that has the aura of the original and will remind them that they saw it live and were thinking about something at that moment.

4.
16th of February, Saturday

Oh my God, the whole history of African American Portraiture is represented in these portraits! I like the phrase from resource “Hyperallergic” so much that I can't help but quote it: “Since the invention of the daguerreotype, in 1839, African Americans have used photography as a means of representing themselves against the backdrop of negative imagery, which often attempted to rob us of our humanity.” Since that time, African Americans began to come up with different ideas for photographs in order to show their status and education, thereby alienating people from racial stereotypes.

On the portraits Barack and Michelle Obama are sitting – thanks to this, we have the opportunity to consider their bodies, postures, style of clothes. No matter what I found in the first painting, my sight still goes back to the hands of the former president. They are in the centre, half-crossed, but do not create a closed pose. I have an association that he is sitting at an invisible table.

At the same time, I can not hold my attention for a long time in the hands of Michelle Obama, they "lead" me to her face – the eyes from the portrait as if looking at me and at the same time not concentrating on anything, she thinks about something of her own.

I looked at several other portraits that are in this gallery. Compared to them, the images of Mr and Mrs Obama look very unusual, but they still have solidity and grace.

3.
15th of February, Friday

It is so excellent to own information! When I know something, I start to perceive these pictures quite differently!
BUT! I feel ashamed of everything I wrote about for the first two days.

Primarily, I started looking for explanations for the background in the portrait of the ex-president. And everything there is not casual! Each flower depicted there is a symbol. Together, they are references to the origin of Barack Obama and his career.
The colours on the painting “First Lady Michelle Obama” – it is also something more than just a random set of paints. The background is made in the style of American folk art, while the ornaments on the dress are the traces of the African-American fabric work and the working manner of Piet Mondrian (his work could also be chosen for writing a diary, but then I would not know that he "is" in the portrait of Michelle! I love different references!)

Although, stop! What is the connection here: why use the drawing style of a Dutch artist in the painting of the wife of the first African-American President of the United States?
Okay, maybe later I will find the answer.

What kind of clue I liked even more is that both Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald are African-American portraitists who often make people of colour heroes of their paintings.

Regarding serious, even a little sad faces of Mr and Mrs Obama - various resources suggest treating them as a manifestation of their focusing on a certain topic, a desire to solve some problem.

2.
14th of February, Thursday

Because of Valentine's Day today, I went deep into thinking about what love is. And it was in this romantic mood that I sat down for viewing portraits.
And it came to me the realisation that Barak and Michelle are husband and wife! But these pictures do not look like a family portrait. Only wedding bands on their left hands say about their status as a married couple. Well, yes, I suspect that something more official was needed for the National Portrait Gallery. But at the same time in these portraits, there is just a little something that I would traditionally consider official for the image of the former president and first lady of the country.
Okay, Barack Obama has a suit. (Do you also think his pants are too short? - He could have been scratched with thorns when he entered this realm of flowers!). And where is his tie, by the way?
It seems to me that his image is the result of working with photoshop. Such a picture could be the cover of a notebook or stand on the screen saver of the phone of some teen-emo.
The background for his portrait does not give me peace! The style of his clothes does not mean that he was going to come to this garden! He would have looked more harmonious if he sat in flip-flops and a loose-fitting shirt.
I also get the impression that the plants began to braid his legs. Has he been sitting there for so long without moving? Or is his role here - inaction?

Much less I have questions to the portrait of Michelle Obama. Probably because behind her is a monochrome background, and this already takes away some of the issues. Regarding other details: why does her dress remind me of cubism, why are there several coloured inserts? Does it have any meaning?
Why is she sitting in a more closed position than Barack Obama? We can see from the silhouette that her legs are crossed, her hands also partially cover her upper body.

Oooooh, I do not like those moments when I do not understand something!

1.
13th of February, Wednesday

I chose the paintings of Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald – the portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama.
I already faced two problems.
First of all, it turns out that it is so difficult for me to consider them meaningfully even for 15 minutes! I am always let myself get distracted by the thoughts like “wow, I want the same dress as Michelle has here” or “okay, on the first portrait the flowers are everywhere…hmmm, I'm curious about flowers near our house, have they already bloomed?”.
Secondly, since last year I had a habit of looking for the value in absolutely everything, the meaning of every detail. No, really, why for example we see that Barack Obama is sitting on a chair (by the way why he namely SITS, does not walk, does not stand), while we have only to guess where is Michelle sitting? Did the background of her portrait match her manicure? And why, after all, are there so many flowers around the ex-president of America?
Therefore, sometimes I think that my habit is superfluous.

They both look very sullen as if they are worried about something, and I do not see any hint of a smile at both. Hey, are you posing, or are you trying to calculate the square root of 350?
Michelle’s dark look is also highlighted by the blue background in the portrait - due to the impact of colour, and it seems to me that her skin is grey. Or is it an artist's idea?
The colour of Barack Obama’s skin also seems unnatural to me. Was it too sunny in that garden? What are these highlights on his forehead?

I have all hope for the third day when I can finally start looking for answers to all those questions.