As a writer, and a former college professor, I've often found myself in debates--many of them heated--about the role of politics in art. I've always been uncomfortable with art that tips political themes into the realm of propaganda, but I also find the argument that almost all art is (in some sense) political very compelling.

I'm not sure what to think of watercolor artist Tim Hinton's "Obama paintings." Over the weekend, we recieved a press release about the artist's most recent work, which depicts the presidential candidate before the backdrop of the American flag, and I've been thinking about them all morning. They're striking paintings and they most certainly have artistic merit, but I wonder what the presence of a political message does to their meaning and value as works of art.

From the press release: "Love or hate the politics of Barack Obama, the man has enraptured the American people and moved the world to closely watch as America is precipitously poised on the eve of history. Only Tim Hinton has captured the soul of the man, the presence of the man, the heart of all America stands for: unyielding faith in the face of unrelenting circumstances."

Loving or hating a painting's subject seems (to me) somewhat besides the point as a viewer. And I'd hate to think of my favorite paintings becoming subject to similar standards of evaluation. Imagine how polarized and stratified our galleries and museums would become if collections were determined entirely by the meaning of the subjects in the curators' lives.

Incidentally, I hunted for "McCain paintings" in the interest of affecting the appearance of political balance on the blog, but the closest thing I could find was a handcrafted model of the fighter jet he flew in the war. Feel free to send links to portraits of the republican candidate our way if you have any.

(Note on the images: I was unable to pull images of Hinton's paintings from his site, nor were any included in the press release; for that reason, I've included an image of the flag, an image of the artist and an image of Obama from the web.)