Luke Dubois is a composer, performer, record producer, and conceptual artist based in New York.  To create “Hindsight is Always 20/20” the artist used a computer to analyze the full text of all 41 State of the Union addressed by American presidents.  An algorithm sorted each address by the frequency with which specific words appeared.  This data was then arranged sequentially beginning with the most frequently used word on a Snellen eye chart—the kind of chart used by optometrists to evaluate acuity of vision.  The result is a remarkably revealing history of the ideas and issues which have preoccupied our country and its leaders over the past 225 years.   Source: The Magazine of the Chrysler Museum of Art January/February 2009

Several students from my World History and Humanities courses (Spring 2009) viewed this exhibit and submitted their impressions of it.  From this opportunity for dialectic with the prints, students came away with a memorable experience to enhance their study of history.                   

Dr. Jack Sommers

* * * *

R. Luke Dubois’s “Hindsight is Always 20/20” is a contemporary exhibit that gives people a closer look into history by using State of the Union speeches given by each of our presidents.  This exhibit almost forces you to spend time with each speech to appreciate its meaning.  Dubois’s exhibit stands out because it is informative and true and it shows you that art doesn’t have to be a pretty picture to have meaning.

                                                            Holly Fleming

An unfavorable President James Buchan most frequently used word in his address was “slavery.”  Anger flashed across my heart like a bolt of lightning as I viewed the large print with the word “SLAVERY” in bold lettering.  How are we to forget?  Slavery was as real as the black ink on this print that stood before me.  I stood face-to-face with the past but with rage in my heart.  I quickly looked away.  My eyes returned to this print, but this time with understanding.  Overwhelmed from thinking about bondage, shackles and bloodshed of my ancestors, I quickly turned my attention to Abraham Lincoln’s print for relief. 

Esther Oliver

Upon walking into the gallery “Hindsight is Always 20/20” I honestly thought “wow, this looks really freaking boring!!”  I then made my way over to the label explaining what the gallery was and how it was made.  After reading the explanation the gallery became more interesting to me.  After glancing around the walls I decided that it would take me a while to thoroughly examine this exhibit and I better get a stool and make myself comfy.  It’s kind of ironic that each frame summarizes what happened during each presidency.  Like Mr. Luke Dubois states, the addresses are conceived as the presidents’ “signature” for their time in office.  The most intriguing address I stumbled across was that of President George Walker Bush.  All it took was one glance and my jaw hit the floor.  The ghastly array of words littering the chart belonging to him exactly summarized the events of his term: Iraq, Iraqi, Terror, Terrorist, Al Quida, Regime, Hussein, Homeland, Regimes, Iraqis, Murder, Terrorism, Attacks, Extremists, Empower, Destroyed, Kill, Killed, Killers, Defeat, Tyranny, Disarm.  Reading those violent words sent chills up my spine.  No other frame had such a striking effect that hit so close to home.  I believe Mr. Dubois accomplished the shock factor with this frame, simply because it had evil written all over it. No matter how one interprets this art exhibit, for me it was an experience of time travel. 

Sarah Gannon

It was interesting to see such an unassuming piece of artwork convey, with jumbled words on charts, a clear and coherent picture of our country’s formation and evolution.

Colin Davis

I went to the museum to acquire information for a paper, and left feeling better than I had before I entered the museum.  Being in this gallery seeing the words of our past presidents seemed so surreal.  At one moment I even pictured myself being there hearing the crowds cheering and going wild.  Standing in the room looking at the words in bold black ink made me wonder “Do the presidents really know the power they have?”  “Do they realize we the people are depending on them, and one sly move could damage this land of ours.  I even believe that Barack Obama could learn from this exhibit.  It would be a good experience for him to see what past presidents were trying to conquer and solve.

Shannon Harris

After Obama’s inauguration speech, I decided to find out what his most used/popular word was throughout his speech.  It was “Nation.”  In looking at his two predecessors, I saw “21^st Terror Nation.”  It shocked me, but in a sense scared me.  It made me think twice about everything that goes behind closed doors with the government and what they know and don’t know.  Many people use the phrase “it gives me a sense of security,” but in this case security is not the word I would use.  Instead, the word that comes to my mind is “awareness.”  I have begun to question everything the government does.  Part of me appreciates this artwork that Dubois worked so hard on, because it gave me a new perspective of the government and what is happening on a daily basis throughout the world.

Sarah Grimes

After several visits and spending quite a few hours studying this exhibit, the number one thing I carried away from Luke Dubois’ “Hindsight is Always 20/20” exhibit is how much America has changed since George Washington’s presidency, with 2009 being deemed the “year of change” with the election of our first African-American president Barack Obama.  It will certainly be interesting to see what changes occur in America over the next four years.

Brittany Smith

Even though this was my first time to The Chrysler Museum of Art, it will not be my last.  I found the associates very friendly and one assisted me to the Dubois gallery.  I really didn’t understand what I was looking at.  All I saw in this brightly lit room were word charts on the walls. Right then I knew it would take me several viewings to really be able to understand this exhibit.  The next time I saw this exhibit, I started to notice what Dubois wanted me to see.  I noticed that George Washington’s most frequently used word was “Gentlemen,”  and George W. Bush’s word was “Terror.”  Our history started with “Gentlemen” and ends with “Terror.”  So our history leads up to this? 

Patrick Regester

When you combine the three words that appeared most frequently in the speeches of Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy you end up with the phrase “Soviet Nuclear Alliance.”  In the years between the giving of these speeches there is a building of the Soviet Union, the shaping of its nuclear arsenal, and the expanding of its communists alliances.  In a word: Cold War.  Could we be headed into a new cold war?

Richard Williams

“Hindsight is Always 20/20” allows Dubois to tell history while removing his own bias.  The history of the United States is told through the words of our presidents.  The most used words during each State of the Union Address are emboldened and placed in prominence over the less frequently used ones.  These words show clearly the path taken by each president.  These ideas, voiced by the presidents, reverberate today, showing that our history has much to teach us.

Benjamin Burton

Eye charts are an ordinary item a person sees at an optometrist’s office, not in a museum.  Suppose though that tone the eye chart instead of typical letters, there were words.  Words aligned on a eye chart would not test one’s sight but one’s mind by provoking intrigue, thought, and maybe even insight.  R. Luke Dubois’ has done just that in his artwork entitled “Hindsight is Always 20/20” by incorporating history in art that not only catches the viewer’s attention but allows the viewer to learn in the process.

Sarah Jane Fuller

Sign of the times *Enlightening * Eye opening * Informative * Thought provoking * Historically frightening.  Dubois invites one totime travel and explore the leadership minds of the past presidents of the United States.  If a picture is worth 1000 words, how much is one word worth?  1/1000^th of a picture?

Evan Kidd

Dubois’ work encompasses the evolution of American presidential history, from the initial theories of classical liberalism and federalism compiled by the Founding Fathers, to the possible realities of nationalized healthcare and end the war on terrorism.  These historic leaders of state can be identified through careful study of the first word on each Snellen eye chart.  But some of Dubois’ prints  cannot be easily interpreted because certain periods in America’s presidential history lack emphasis in educational settings  President Fords’ framed print is not easily comprehended at first glance because the word used most frequently, Barrels, is not surrounded by other modifiers  or adjective that describe the contextual use of the word.  These descriptive adjectives are found elsewhere in the chart such as crude oil, gas, petroleum, and power plants.

Virginia Rawls

Let’s be honest, they are simply prints and to some, it may not be considered art.  The idea and process itself is art.  It is very clever exhibit and as a conceptual artist, Dubois has shown his ability to re-present U.S. history in a “can you see it now?” methodology, much like Andy Warhol did with throwing American pop culture back in its face.

Delia Swift