Ron English’s Abraham Obama

Such cultural subversion is part of English’s signature style. For more than two decades he has been painting canvas and billboard alike with jabs at everything from religion to politics to fast food to cigarettes that are as colorful as they are controversial.

“My art allows me to explore dark impulses and be bad without feeling guilty about it the next day,” says English. “Plus it’s more fun than having a real job.”

Also on hand last night was MC Supersized, an obscenely large version of Ronald McDonald. The costume was so heavy that the actor wearing it needed to keep an electric fan in the headpiece to prevent him from overheating.

The Ron English (popaganda.com) show at the Opera Gallery (operagallery.com) opens to the public today and runs for one month.

Although the crowd yesterday was delighted by the unexpected cowgirl invasion, the heifers themselves may have been permanently scarred. After five hours being body painted by the expert hand of Danielle Fonseca at Body Of Art, the girls spent another two scrubbing the cow off their skin.

“I may never drink milk again!” declared cowgirl actress Kiki Valentine. “But to embody this character and become a living part of Ron’s incredible, culture-jamming mix of paintings and sculpture was worth every minute.”