Dubbed “Obamalisque” and compared to a “Star Wars” spaceship and the Eye of Sauron from “The Lord of the Rings”, this project managed to stir up quite a commotion even before its opening.
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The B. Obama Center is the latest and perhaps the boldest example of a uniquely American genre of monuments that US leaders build for themselves after the end of their term.
The main point of discussion is its central feature – an almost windowless, 69-meter-high granite obelisk, which houses a museum dedicated to the first black US president.
President Donald Trump, who is neither a fan of B. Obama nor modern architecture, compared it to a trash can.
However, representatives of the Obama Presidential Center assure that, despite its brutalist appearance, the monument reflects the main ideas of his 2009–2017 presidency.
“It is a permanent home for hope,” said Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation and former senior White House advisor during his presidency.
The monolithic museum is the main highlight of a larger, approximately 8-hectare area on Chicago’s South Side, which has long been home to Barack and Michelle Obama.
It features a giant basketball court, named “Home Court”, in honor of B. Obama’s love for the sport.
There is also a large playground and a public library. However, unlike the other 15 official US presidential libraries, this one will store archives digitally, rather than in paper copies.
“Obama Burger”
Local residents complained when it was announced in 2018 that the center would be built in a green zone, but the Obama Foundation states that it needs to be at the heart of the community.
B. Obama was actively involved in the design – sometimes even too actively, said V. Jarrett.
“He is a bit of an unfulfilled architect, so he had a lot to say about how the building was designed,” she said.
Giant stone letters adorn the top of the building, forming part of a speech B. Obama delivered in 2015 in Selma, Alabama, the cradle of the civil rights movement.
A slightly larger-than-life sculpture of waving Obamas greets museum guests, an AFP journalist noted during a media preview on Wednesday.
The museum itself begins with the “Foyer of Hope and Change” and then guides visitors to a colossal four-story screen displaying images from the Obamas’ lives and the civil rights movement.
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Upstairs is the “Sky Room” with views of Chicago, where visitors can look directly through the words of B. Obama’s speech.
The restaurant sells an “Obama Burger” for $15.50 (13.35 euros).
The first floor displays items from young B. Obama’s life, including his handprint. The second floor tells the story of his victory in the 2008 US elections, and the third floor covers his presidential achievements.
One of the most impressive exhibits is an exact replica of B. Obama’s Oval Office, where visitors can sit at a life-size “Resolute” desk.
The comparison between B. Obama’s rather minimalist version and D. Trump’s maximalist, gold-decorated Oval Office is evident, though not explicitly highlighted.
“Inspiring New Leaders”
D. Trump is like the invisible elephant in the room throughout the museum.
He replaced B. Obama in 2017 and has since tried to dismantle everything the Democrat accomplished. However, the “hope and change” message resonating throughout the center attempts to look beyond the recent Trump-dominated decade.
“We are not focused on a specific narrow part of this moment or history,” Michael Strautmanis, head of corporate affairs for the Obama Foundation, told AFP.
“It’s more about inspiring new leaders,” said M. Strautmanis, who served in B. Obama’s first administration.
Critics’ opinions on the architecture of the B. Obama Center were divided. The New York Times called it “cold and off-putting,” while The Washington Post described it as a “time loop”.
Architects Billie Tsien and Tod Williams dismissed the criticism, stating that B. Obama himself was inspired by the large-scale works of the modernist Romanian sculptor.
B. Tsien stated that the “strict” form was partly due to the fact that museums often do not have many windows.
“At the same time, it is a symbol of the building, it is a symbol of a specific presidency,” she said.
B. Obama himself poked fun at the “Star Wars” comparisons, appearing in a video with actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, with the museum towering above them.
“This is not a monument to my legacy, it is a gateway to your legacy,” says B. Obama.
However, D. Trump, also thinking about his legacy, announced plans to establish his presidential library in Miami with his own Oval Office and an “Air Force One” plane.
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