This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo right-wing painter Jon McNaughton is truly national news now - so much so that he was satirically "praised" by Stephen Colbert.
On "The Colbert Report" Wednesday, Colbert played clips from cable TV — both Sean Hannity on Fox News and Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC — talking about MacNaughton's works.
Colbert then used his artistic expertise to decipher the hidden meaning of McNaughton's painting "One Nation Under Socialism," which shows President Barack Obama holding up a flaming copy of the U.S. Constitution.
Colbert said: "Barack Obama represents President Obama, and the burning Constitution represents the Constitution on fire. I didn't get it on first either."
Colbert then showed McNaughton's work "The Forgotten Man" (pictured above), which shows Obama trampling on the Constitution while the presidents of the past look on. "It's so lifelike," Colbert said, "you can almost hear the Founding Fathers standing behind him asking, 'Who gave that slave a suit?'"
And, finally, Colbert gazed upon McNaughton's "masterpiece":
" 'One Nation Under God,' which depicts Jesus presenting America the Constitution he just wrote. And Founding Father Jesus is surrounded by other great Americans: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan. It's like 'Where's Waldo,' but what you're searching for is the smallest hint of subtlety."