Makoto Fujimura, a fine art painter, from whom I draw a lot of insight in my book (he’s got a great book called “Culture Care” that I highly recommend) here writes an excellent piece on the devolution of the practice of Presidential Portrature.
From the article:
“Artists, then, are futurists. And good ones intuit and, in some ways, create the future. Great art makes you believe. One might say that a good artist, through the visage of a face, captures the time that is now while also invoking the future, anticipating that many throughout the centuries will gather to honor such a gift. One might go even further and say that great art does more than invoke the future; it influences it. Great art motivates us toward escalating decisive action: we design a frame to protect it, enlarge a wall to honor it, create a building to enhance it, and ultimately shape a nation around it.”