by Hannah Yoest: WHEN DONALD TRUMP WAS PRESIDENT the first time, the artistic world mocked, castigated, and condemned him. There were examples in a variety of media: illustrated tabloids, open letters, billboards, posters, performance art, you name it.
2 comments:
I think that the importance of political art is not necessarily in making a stand against someone who is unfortunately protected and will be unaffected by the art, but in showing other people that they aren’t alone. In Trump’s cult of followers who believe that anything he says is true and that he's going to save America from some perceived threat, a painting or statue isn’t going to convince them that life can be different. But someone who is too scared to speak out for themselves may see said statue and know that someone is going to speak out and it will be ok someday. In 2016, I remember being small and scared when Trump got elected. I was watching the news with my mom in her bed, curled up, and I started crying because they were showing a pride march protesting his election and I thought it was beautiful. I may not have fully understood what was going on, but I knew they were the good guys, and I was happy that someone was going to do something against this scary man I didn’t understand. That feeling of community comes from art and protest, and I really hope that it doesn’t completely fade away these next four years.
Coming from the red state of Florida I can tell you exactly why political art is failing to create change. The us vs them mentality is far too strong to be swayed by overt criticism. This is how all fascists gain such a devoted and blind following. Creating an “other” allows you to take any valid criticism and file it away in the “you just hate me and everything i stand for” box. By incorporating maga into a brand and marketable lifestyle they’ve helped shift attacking a public political figure into a personal attack on one’s self. In order to be heard and considered you need to be subtle. If you crack a window it will shatter in a hurricane. Critiquing the small and unimportant seeming parts of a foundational issue in a way that people will listen to helps lead them to their own conclusions and they will listen to themselves over the “other” any day. It’s annoying and slow and not flashy or fun but it’s effective. The truth is that no republican is going to empathize with you out of being a trumpie, but if you place doubt in their mind then the next thing that negatively impacts them will be more likely to make them reevaluate their beliefs.
Post a Comment