Gramholm, ushering in Michigan’s economic rebirth

An oil painting of Michigan’s former Governor, Jennifer Granholm, was made public at the Capital rotunda in Lansing today. Granholm, who was present for the unveiling, said, among other things, that the apple blossoms in the painting symbolize Michigan’s economic rebirth, which had begun under her adminstration. When I read that, I laughed out loud.

A friend of a friend made the comment that, in the painting, Granholm looks as though she’s standing at a urinal. I laughed at that too… until I began to wonder if doing so made me sexist. I’ve since determined that it doesn’t, by the way, so feel free to laugh.

I also found the price tag kind of funny. Here, on that, is a clip from the Detroit News.

…A bipartisan nonprofit foundation has been raising the money for the portrait, the frame and the Capitol ceremony. Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said the cost of the project was in “six figures,” but would not be more specific…

Which begs the question, “Who in their right fucking mind would donate thousands of dollars to a Granholm oil painting fund?”

I’ve never been a fan of Granholm’s. I’m tempted to say more, but I’ll leave it at that for now, so that I can just focus on enjoying the painting.

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12 Comments

  1. Knox
    Posted May 6, 2011 at 11:06 pm | Permalink

    If we want to blame the Snyder victory on someone, we should blame it on Granholm, and not the Greffs.

  2. Anonymous
    Posted May 7, 2011 at 12:27 am | Permalink

    Her fucking ego is hilarious.

  3. Andrew Jason Clock
    Posted May 7, 2011 at 12:30 am | Permalink

    Knox: yes.

    I was going to say this portrait seemed a little silly and amateurish, but then I googled “Michigan Governor’s Portraits” and realized that seems to be the standard.

    I saw the apple blossom thing on twitter today. I also laughed.

  4. Redleg
    Posted May 7, 2011 at 8:23 am | Permalink

    Napoleon posed groping a globe once– At least in reference towards him, posing so made sense. A more accurate depiction for Granholm would be for her to knock that globe off of its pedestal, causing Michigan to fall off and shatter….. And I say this as a life long democrat……
    “Power” pose aside, she WILL go down in history as one of Michigan’s weakest governors– Ever.

  5. Bob
    Posted May 7, 2011 at 9:05 am | Permalink

    She appears to be gazing wistfully at the smoldering ruins of her “cool cities.” I certainly should have given Jenny her share of credit amidst all of my Snyder ranting. She had a hopeless mess to contend with but appeared clueless at every turn. Worse, she just clearly was playing it as safely as possible during her entire run. I got the feeling she was always thinking about her next job, not about what she could really accomplish for Michigan. I love how every six months some rumor makes the news about some important position the Obama administration is considering her for. It always smells like some Granholm publicists effort.

  6. Jules
    Posted May 7, 2011 at 12:59 pm | Permalink

    The shovel leaning against the bookcase. WTF? Omg, the fucking hubris.

  7. charlie roger
    Posted May 7, 2011 at 6:21 pm | Permalink

    There is more than one aspect of that painting which is disturbingly incongruous given her past performance.

  8. Art Critic
    Posted May 7, 2011 at 10:31 pm | Permalink

    The painting is rich with symbolism. Granholm has her back turned coldly to the Spirit of Detroit which is reaching/staring towards her with unrequited attention. The automotive industry sits on the top shelf in silver blue facing the future while the graduation cap limps downward and backward in brown shadows beneath it. Her fingers on the globe lie in Canada, where she was born, not in the State where she served. Her family photo, like education, is second shelf and, like Detroit, stares longingly at her backside. The shovel is at her heels, seemingly ready to dig a grave. The wind turbine looks more like a propeller mounted to the globe which is looking upward at the area below her waist line. Most importantly, we see her left side obscuring the the trademark mole on her right cheek.

    Finally, this doesn’t look like a portrait of Jennifer Granholm as much as a composite of Sharon Stone and Hillary Clinton.

  9. Kassandra
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 8:20 am | Permalink

    More importantly, would that same person fund a space for the Ann Arbor Derby Dimes?

  10. Jen
    Posted May 10, 2011 at 2:27 pm | Permalink

    “I found myself getting distracted a lot at work. My mind just kept drifting somewhere else. I would tell myself to get to work, only to find myself gazing out the window, minutes later. I spoke to my doctor and he recommended ‘Adherol’.”

  11. TaterSalad
    Posted May 14, 2011 at 10:38 am | Permalink

    Barack Obama will be a one term President. People have caught on to his phony “I’m for you theme song” while taking vacations, making smartass comments about the border and not being transparent with the American people.

    1. The “gig is up” for Barack & Michelle Obama. Finally the people have had enough. They have been exposed and the voters can see through the inaccurate facade these two are portraying.
    http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/36428

    2. How can you support Obama in good conscience? http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/does-it-boggle-your-mind-thinking-about-how-many-liberals-can-in-good-conscience-still-back-obama/question-1794163/

    3. Is Barack Obama a serial liar! The facts are in! Yes! He will tell us anything to keep his ratings up and to get re-elected. He is a pure narcissistic person with an arrogant inferiority complex.
    http://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2011/05/is-obama-serial-liar.html

    4. http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/if-you-believe-anything-that-obama-says-these-days-your-nuts-he-has-no-intention-of-working-on-the/question-1711917/

  12. Posted May 14, 2011 at 9:36 pm | Permalink

    Tater, do you ever read what my posts are about before you leave your comments?

    Would it be too much to ask that you put your comments in threads that are at least somewhat relevant?

    If you want to email me your comments, I could find relevant threads for them.

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