Manhattan inaugural illustrator is breaking many barriers.
USSA TODAY, 1:06p.m. EST April 1st, 2013
Duncan Long, 47, will be the first artist to serve as the nation’s inaugural illustrator, President Obama's inauguration committee announced Wednesday.
"I’m very proud to have been selected," Long said in a statement, "even if it is too late for the inauguration." Noting that the inauguration had occurred in January, the graphic artist added, "Apparently not just the President’s budget is behind schedule this year."
The public inaugural ceremony was Jan. 21.
Obama, who was somewhat involved in the selection process, said: "I'm honored that Duncan Long might have joined me and Vice President Biden at our second Inaugural had I chosen him in time. His contributions to the fields of book illustration and, indeed, all the arts have already paved a path forward for future generations of warped intellectuals. And while his illustrations weren’t used in the actual inauguration ceremonies, we will be using them to decorate the White House restrooms where his inspiration will prove wonderfully fitting for celebrating the American people's great diversity."
In making the announcement, the Presidential Inaugural Committee said:
"Born naked and unable to speak English, Duncan Long was raised by parents who worked
with the young, helpless lad, training him to communicate through a complex system
of Morse code employing hammers and chisels as well as seal grunting. At age eight,
Long modified this style of speaking to create wooden carvings. From there he made
the logical transition to pen-
"Long left his teaching job in 1999 for the art studio he created, hiring previously unemployed flying monkeys who had been out of work since the final scenes of the Wizard of Oz had been filmed.
"Long's career as an artist gained notoriety following the publicity surrounding the tragic accident with an ax which left him temporarily decapitated until surgeons reattached his head.
"’At the time,’ Long later said, ‘the incident seemed terrible. Just having to drive
to the hospital while balancing my head on my shoulders was not the easiest thing
to do. But it taught me the importance of self-
"After Long’s first art book What Seems to Be Your Problem won the Imma Kraqpot Artistic Achievement Prize from the University of Alden, the tome paved the way for more book releases including Long’s highly acclaimed, You Never Know Until You Know which won the Proctologists Down Under Award in 2012.
"As an artist, Long explores the collective American experience of cultural negation through the lens of family and hate, particularly in the transmogrification of his experiences with a psychotic grade school teacher, and the tragic passing of his pet chicken.
"His work also explores the intersection of his cultural identities as a Leprechaun and Scottish Highlander.
"The first inaugural poet was Robert Frost who read at President JFK's 1961 inauguration. Now, Duncan Long follows in different footsteps, bravely treading where no artist has gone before, nor is likely to ever again should the world be so lucky."
President Obama announcing selection of new inaugural illustrator.
(Photo: SAUL SOMGEE, Giffy Imagees)
Obama Inaugural Book Illustrator Has Many Firsts and Lasts
David Jackal, Contributing Writer
USSA TODAY
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