Interview with Whis

The following is a guest post from Peg Winni, a noted expert on the nexus of art and politics. In this post, Peg interviews Whis, a conservative artist whose real name remains unknown.

Peg Winni: “Whis, you are somewhat unusual in that you are gay, an artist and extremely conservative. Have you always been all three?”

Whis: “Well, I was born gay, developed my talent as an artist and was originally very liberal. But, I recently became a Republican. Log cabin, of course.”

Peg Winni: “How recently?”

Whis: “Well, let it suffice to say that I voted for Obama.”

Peg Winni: “But now you are against him?”

Whis: “Yes. He promised to do something about “don’t ask” and didn’t. He also promised other things. When he betrayed us, I knew I had to become a Republican.”

Peg Winni: “But Republicans tend to be anti-gay.”

Whis: “That is the stereotype and the myth. But, in actuality, many Republicans are gay. Just look at Larry Craig and Ted Haggard. In fact, as the kids would say, most of the Republican agenda is totally gay.”

Peg Winni: “So how does your conservative views influence your art?”

Whis: “Well, I see it as an evolution. When I first started, I held my brush in my hand, then tried holding it in my mouth. To make a statement. Then I thought that taping it to my penis would make more of a statement. But, pulling the tape off hurt a whole bunch. So, I just started painting with it. But then I saw Glenn Beck talking about the tea bag parties. I love tea bagging and wanted to get involved. I’d tea bag with Beck any day of the week. But, to get back to the art, I thought that I could express the Republican outrage by incorporating tea bagging into my art. So, I applied finger paint to my ‘tea bag’ and used it to artistically enhance images of the Democratic leadership. I tea bagged them left and right.”

Peg Winni: “So, your art expresses in paint what the tea party folks express with words?”

Whis:“Quite so. We all want to tea bag America. I even scream out political sayings when I do my art. Once, I even did a piece at a town hall meeting-just dropped my pants, slapped on the paint and starting tea bagging away on photos of Obama while I was yelling at the Democrats.”

Peg Winni: “How did the other tea party folks react?”

Whis:“The other tea baggers were impressed. They could see how much I loved America-almost as much as Glenn Beck loves it. By the end of the town hall, most of the tea baggers had their pants off and the paint was everywhere. It was a great day for America!”

Peg Winni:“That must have been quite a sight. Tell me, do you have any plans to expand your art?”

Whis:“Actually, yes. The town hall meeting got me thinking that I could make my artistic tea bagging into a performance art. I could go to town hall meetings, paint up and slap my tea bag on the foreheads of the Democrats.”

Peg Winni:“Wouldn’t that be considered some sort of assault?”

Whis:“No, it would be art. The Democrats, for all their faults, do love the arts. So, they would have to let me do it. Plus, I think most of them would enjoy a good tea bagging, too. That is one thing that there is bi-partisan support for. After all, they don’t have the ‘bi’ in ‘bi-partisan’ for nothing. ”

Peg Winni:“Interesting. Well, I’ll look for you on Fox News.”