One Nation Under Socialism
(painting by mcnaughtonart.com)
loading...

Jon McNaughton is an artist that is quite talented.  He has put that talent to use on different pieces that range from the religious to the patriotic.  Occasionally, he ranges into the area of the controversial.  He may have done so with a piece he calls "One Nation Under Socialism" which depicts Barack Obama burning a copy of the Constitution of the United States.

When I spoke with Jon he said, "I started to get passionate when Obama got in office.  I started to go after him when they passed Obamacare.  I look at my art as a way to communicate my ideas to people."

He has done the paintings over the course of the last three years  and he said he loves to have people discussing them. People find different messages in artwork whether they be conservative or liberal and according to McNaughton, it's all in the eye of the beholder.

He said he is getting a lot of national attention and it has been all over the internet just since the release of his latest piece, just one week ago.  Other paintings have taken a little more time to get people talking.

For me, it points out how art can be a powerful medium.  It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words and in my opinion, even more can be said with the stroke of a brush.  Jon McNaughton has made some powerful statements about what he believes and has injected himself uniquely into the back and forth of American politics.  It is a lesson in how we can get involved.  You may not find yourself of the opinion that McNaughton has about President Obama or the future of the country, but he has decided that he should use his God-given talent to make a statement about the direction of the nation.  He's getting involved in a way that he can.  He is expressing himself as so many of us don't.

It's worth a look at his art, not just for the controversial overtones, but for the many undertones that you find when you take a good look.  Artists communicate ideas, but sometimes, you have to pause and look for them.  A word comes to mind from the Old Testament of the Bible and that is "selah."  The meaning is to pause and reflect.  Maybe it's time that we all did that.

More From News Talk 96.5 KPEL