If you didn't care for the Michelle portrait and didn't hear her and Amy Sherald speak,

[LAS14]

...it's really enlightening to hear them talk about it. Sorry - couldn't figure out how to copy the direct link to the video. It's here in this DU post.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210219992#post1

[SharonClark]

1. A portrait should speak for itself and not require an artist to explain it.

This 'portrait', supposedly of the vibrant and beautiful Michelle Obama, is boring and ugly.

[pnwest]

2. ...flat and lifeless...

[PatSeg]

12. Glad to see

that it is not just me.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. I tend to agree. Portraits should speak for themselves.

This one looks like something one would produce on one's mobile phone with an app like Prisma or DeepArt

[Luz]

8. It's to hang in the Smithsonian, and it's just plain ugly.

If it were to be exhibited anywhere else, I could understand the "artistic" thing, but not here.

[LAS14]

9. Different people see different things, and I found that...

.... seeing other portraits by this artist (which Michelle had seen before choosing her) gave me an insight into what Michelle was talking about when she described her thinking.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210219889

[LAS14]

7. Different people see different things, and I found that...

.... seeing other portraits by this artist (which Michelle had seen before choosing her) gave me an insight into what Michelle was talking about when she described her thinking.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210219889

[LovingA2andMI]

4. Still don't like the First Lady's Picture

And Michelle was being gracious, as she always is but the picture needs to be redone, period. Along with President Obama's as both portraits are not that good.

[LAS14]

10. Different people see different things, and I found that...

.... seeing other portraits by this artist (which Michelle had seen before choosing her) gave me an insight into what Michelle was talking about when she described her thinking.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210219889

[WillowTree]

5. Zero life or energy.

Truthfully, I wouldn't have recognized it as Mrs. Obama at all.

[Siwsan]

6. I didn't 'recognize' her face, at first

But depending on the camera angle, sometimes it very much resembles her.

And I agree it is a little flat, which is why I'd love to see it in person. It might give off a completely different vibe that the flatness of a tv broadcast can't project.

[LAS14]

11. Different people see different things, and I found that...

.... seeing other portraits by this artist (which Michelle had seen before choosing her) gave me an insight into what Michelle was talking about when she described her thinking.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210219889

[procon]

13. If the artist's effort has to come with a warning tag that explains

their work, that's not art, it a laundry tag. Art appreciation is in the eye of the beholder, and what most people are seeing seems to be uninspiring, if not disappointing.

[Orangepeel]

14. Everyone is entitled to their opinions...

But Michelle Obama’s is really the only one that matters. She picked the artist for her own reasons and it was her call to make.

[Laurian]

15. I love Michelle Obama's smile and it's absent from this portrait.

I think her smile is a defining characteristic and such a wonderful asset that I wish it had been depicted.

[LAS14]

16. Maybe the artist saw past the smile. nt

[NCTraveler]

17. Always enjoy listening to MO.

Absolutely horrible painting. No explanation necessary.

Looks like the start to an H&M poster on the subway.

Art is in the eye of the beholder. I hope the Obamas love it.

[LAS14]

18. What does H&M mean? nt

[NCTraveler]

19. Clothing company. nt.