About that "Impeachment" Ornament

The airwaves and Internet have been abuzz with the news that the White House refused to hang a Christmas tree ornament made by Washington State artist Deborah F. Lawrence. Now, the first seven or eight (dozen) things I heard/read *sort of* made it sound as if Lawrence had emblazoned the words "Impeach Bush!!!" in shocking pink, glow-in-the-dark paint over and over on her ornament, and everyone was having a hearty, "oh-ho, those wacky artists" chuckle because we aren't, sadly, a nation exactly rife with deep thinkers. We, the people, tend to like our sensations better than the truth--which is always lurking in the background, somewhere, and usually interesting enough on its own. So. I went a-looking.

First--and I confess total prior ignorance about how Christmas tree ornaments are chosen at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; I thought they probably had boxes in the basement like the rest of us--apparently the White House each year asks artists to create themed ornaments for the Blue Room's tree. (Previous themes: Jacqueline Kennedy's 1961 "Nutcracker Suite"; Nancy Reagan's 1986 "Mother Goose"; the Clinton's 1998 "A Winter Wonderland"; etc.) First Lady Laura Bush chose "Red, White and Blue" as the 2008 theme, and artists living in each of the 538 U.S. Congressional Districts were invited to submit ornament designs by their respective Representatives' offices. The White House eventually selected 369 ornaments to hang on this year's tree, many of which came from these new offerings.

"So what," I hear you ask, "Could possibly go wrong?" Not much, as you'd expect, except, and somewhat belatedly with Ms. Lawrence's submission. Frankly, I think the ornament at issue here was innocuous if one is familiar with her work, and I have to believe that staffers in her Representative's office are included in the familiarity roster. Deborah Lawrence is very well known around Washington State's Seventh District; she lives, works, frequently shows and is represented by a gallery, all in Seattle. She is a collagist whose work over the last few decades is 100% unapologetically pro-peace, pro-feminism, anti-war, anti-gun ... yes, all of those things some denounce as Liberal.

Lawrence is also witty and very funny, and that rare visual artist who is adept at words. She uses words--actual cut-out words, pasted onto her works (a la ransom notes) and varnished into place--to illustrate her ideas to great effect. She is a genius at collage, a wizard with found images in the best tradition of the Dadaists (think: Hannah Höch on a good day). Honestly, if you're even the tiniest bit progressive, you really should see Deborah Lawrence's work. But, I digress.

Getting back to our story, Lawrence was invited to submit a "Red, White and Blue" ornament. This was reported to be surprising to her, whose last exhibition was pretty much completely anti-George W. Bush. However, she is a professional artist. Lawrence created a 9-inch globe covered with her trademark collage. It is, as you can see in the image above, visually attractive. It has numerous "Stripes" parts of the American flag applied to its surface, along with several small images: the State Seal of Washington; logos from the 1910 Washington State "Women's Right to Vote" referendum and the 1919 Seattle General Strike; a WTO emblem with the "No" circle around it commemorating Seattle's peaceful demonstration in 1999; a head shot of Lawrence's Representative, Jim McDermott (D-WA) and a peace dove.

And then there is a fair amount of text, meticulously cut and pasted into appealing swirls and spirals. Text that reflects Deborah's statement: "The lively history of Washington State includes many instances of progressive change. That's why I am proud to live here." Several parts of the text concern Congressman McDermott: his work toward providing low-cost health insurance to the unemployed and working poor, his prediction that no WMDs would be found in Iraq, and his signature on legislation calling for the impeachment of the current President. Out of over 200 collaged words, "impeachment" appears exactly once on the ornament and "Bush" does not appear at all, but the one instance of "impeachment" is what ended up causing problems.

Against the odds (again, if one knows of the artist's unhidden political sensibilities), Lawrence's ornament was deemed acceptable and she was invited to the artists' reception at the White House (which, I am happy to say, she did attend). However, in the interim someone on the White House staff--perhaps, for example, a person that reads press clippings--tipped off his or her Higher Ups about the I-word. An irritated White House subsequently had to (1) ban the ornament from the tree and (2) issue an official statement over this outrage. My favorite quote:

"I think it really is a shame and, quite frankly, not very much in the holiday spirit," First Lady Laura Bush's spokeswoman, Sally McDonough, told The Associated Press.

I found this mildly amusing, myself being able to think of a great many other things that I'd deem more of a shame and, quite frankly, not very much in the holiday spirit. First Amendment rights? No, they've never struck me as shameful. To each his own, though, I guess.

So there you have it. That's all that really happened. Talented artist does what she's been doing all along, the spin hits the fan and some writers commence to lose their righteous minds over it. The most bizarre part of this story, at least to me, is that I now owe the Bush White House a debt of gratitude. For introducing me to Deborah Lawrence.

Related Reading and Viewing:

• Deborah F. Lawrence - the artist's website
• Dee Dee Does Utopia - Ms. Lawrence's recent book
• "Spotlight: Future Perfect" - article/book review of Dee Dee Does Utopia from Seattle Magazine
• "Art Zone" - video clip, interview with Deborah Lawrence (start of clip to 6:40)

Image Credit:

Washington State District 7 Christmas Tree Ornament
© 2008 Deborah F. Lawrence