In 2008, Damon DeWitt was 25, living in Miami. It was an election year, Barack Obama was running on a platform for change, and the city was electric — celebrities giving speeches on soapboxes in South Beach.

He was working two jobs and trying to figure out whether he was actually going to be an artist. So he made himself a deal: he’d paint every American president, and if he still wanted to make art at the end of it, he’d keep going.

Forty-five portraits later, each one in a different style, his series “Dads of Democracy” is on display.

It’s at Wayne State University’s Hilberry Gateway Gallery — in Detroit, in an election year, in the 250th year of the Declaration of Independence.

Damon DeWitt joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss the presidency, American power, and the connection between art and politics.

Editor’s Note: The collection is on loan to Wayne State from Mary Zatina and Kevin Prihod. Mary Zatina is WDET’s general manager.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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