Gallery view of Obama Room, Mina Cheon's solo exhibition "Polipop," at the Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea, 2012.
Obama Dancing, video installation 2012 Polipop (Political Pop Art) by Mina Cheon was first shown at Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea in the Obama Room, Polipop, solo-exhibition by Mina Cheon. This is one of the videos of the three channel video installation with rotating Styrofoam sculpture of Obama. The installation was also later installed at the Seoul Olympic Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea between February 7 - March 31, 2013.
Obama Dancing appropriates a small action figure toy known as "Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Obama" and is made into a life-size Styrofoam statue, fabricated at the scale of President Barack Obama's physical height (6'11" or 186 cm). The statue stands on a turntable, rotating slowly in the gallery to music and a three channel video installation. Obama, as the Polipop (political pop art) icon of our time is highlighted both as monumental, larger than life figure, as well as easily accessible due to mass media and proliferation of his imagery in popular culture. The video channels is a series of animation made by the artist of Obama dancing the famous Ally McBeal (American television show series) baby dance to "Oogachaka" songs. The late 90s hit TV series Ally McBeal was famous for the appearance of a 3D animation baby, which became an instant television series hit, and sparked a new viral sensation of the animation and music before the time of the Internet. The artist was fascinated by the action figure (manufactured by Jailbreak Toys, Inc.) that came in a box with a white Obama toy that one can DIY paint. Obama as the first African-American President in the United States has raised continued discussion about race, culture, and politics in America, and the artist felt the need to distill some of the irony of a white Obama toy through this installation.
Music: "Dancing Baby" song in Ally McBeal (American television show series) includes variations of "Hooked on a Feeling" and "Oogachaka," sung first by B.J. Thomas and then by Blue Swede.
