It's not every day a former president starts painting. Former President George W. Bush took the art world by storm when he announced his first exhibition of paintings of world leaders. First, art critics bit right into Bush's paintings, then Twitter took over.
Some Twitter users found the idea of Bush painting so preposterous that they thought it was a joke -- until they saw his paintings. Then, they let loose. It's a good thing that Bush says he is "not a great artist," because for the most part, the response has been overwhelmingly critical and occasionally nasty. Most Twitter users openly mocked Bush's artistic efforts, saying that his paintings look infantile.
The funny part about these types of attacks is that Bush actually hired an art instructor to help him learn the basics of technique.
"I said, 'There's a Rembrandt trapped in this body, and it's your job to unleash it,' " Bush said.
Needless to say, this statement in and of itself drew a lot of chuckles.
Others compared Bush with other world leaders who have taken up painting after leaving the world stage. Sometimes the comparison was flattering, like in the case of Winston Churchill, but in one particular tweet, the comparison was anything but complimentary. That's right, one Twitter user brought up Hitler and his pre-dictatorship hobby: painting.
Many suggested that Bush paint different subjects instead of world leaders and his pet dog. Suggested subjects included Abu Ghraib torture victims, those who suffered during Hurricane Katrina, the Lehman Brothers' collapse and other touchy political topics. In fact, someone created an entire Twitter account called @BushPaintings, which posts different images that Bush should paint. The account bio reads: "Posting pictures of what awesome hilarious pictures George W Bush should paint next." Some Twitter users expressed disgust that the mass media is focusing on Bush's paintings at all when they should be addressing Bush's alleged war crimes.
Although many were downright nasty about Bush and his paintings, the artist gained a few fans on Twitter. One user even said that he was surprised that he didn't feel compelled to make fun of Bush.
Love him or hate him, looking at Bush's paintings and Twitter's response to them has certainly been enlightening.
