UPDATE: The free art exhibit “Trumpmania” has been extended through Friday, April 29, at the Art Museum of Rochester. AMoR’s hours are 5 to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Friday.
A traveling exhibit featuring artwork inspired by Donald
Trump and his presidential campaign will be presented for one night only at the
Art Museum of Rochester (610 Monroe Avenue). “TRUMPMANIA™” is curated by pop
culture professor Anthony Rotolo of Syracuse, and
will take place Monday, April 18, from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The exhibit focuses on Trump and the “cultural tidal wave”
that occurred when the billionaire businessman announced his run for the White
House, Rotolo says. It includes an international,
“all-partisan” group of more than 20 artists responding to Trump and his
campaign, and mingled in is a collection of Trump’s own products.
Featured artists include Sarah Levy of Portland, Oregon, with
her infamous portrait of Trump painted in her own menstrual blood. This work,
titled “Whatever,” and the resulting hashtag #BloodyTrump,
was inspired by Trump’s remarks that Fox News host Megyn
Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever.”
Other featured works include New York City street artist Hanksy’s iconic “Dump Trump” image; anonymous artist DonkeyHotey’s photorealistic caricatures; Libertarian-leaning
Montana-based political cartoonist Ben Garrison’s illustration of Trump’s rise;
and Amsterdam artist Onno Lolkema’s
painting of Jeb Bush being breast-fed by Donald Trump — a response to comedian
Rob Delaney’s joking tweet that he collects oil paintings of Donald Trump
breastfeeding Jeb Bush.
Rotolo originally reached out to several
artists whose Trump-based work had made a particular splash on social media.
The most common response was enthusiastic — many of these artists wanted to do
something with their piece but had no idea what, Rotolo
says. He’s since accepted art from people who have reached out to him, and
plans to create a call for submissions.
“‘Trumpmania’ is a snapshot of a
unique moment in American political history,” Rotolo
says. “Donald Trump is a genuine cultural phenomenon; he has everyone talking.
I wanted to find a new way to experience the conversation he’s inspired, the
good and the bad, and perhaps consider it all, and the election, in a different
light.”
While many of the pieces were created in reaction to the
buffoonery spouted by The Donald, not everything portrays him in a negative
light, and Rotolo says that the show has drawn Trump
supporters and protesters alike.
You might wonder if he felt any trepidation about getting
these two groups in one room, considering the clashes that happen, particularly
at Trump rallies. “I absolutely did, and I do still,” he says.
At one of the openings, Rotolo says,
he turned to a friend and said, “You know, I’m not sure if there is anywhere
else right now where there are people in the room who are super excited about
Donald Trump and people who are super horrified by him, and are talking to each
other and not fighting.”
Watching the crowd has also challenged the generalizations of
who Trump supporters are, he says. At the reception in Syracuse, Rotolo says he witnessed a Trump-supporting father and
young son discussing each of the artworks and the issues surrounding them.
The show also features a range of Trump’s own cultural
contributions, from his book, “The Art of the Deal,” to the Trump brand board
game, Trump necktie, Trump water, and so on, meant to represent “how long he
has been with us culturally,” Rotolo says. “It’s
almost like a cultural petting zoo.”
Rochester is the third stop for the exhibition, which has been
shown in Syracuse and New York City in the past week, but Rotolo
is busy lining up more locations outside of the state throughout the election
year.
Rotolo produces “Popular Education”
events at his studio, #RotoloClass Media, in Syracuse.
These include his public courses on “Star Trek” and “Doctor Who,” taken by
thousands worldwide, and #ElectionClass, which was
covered by NBC’s TODAY show in 2012. Rotolo was
formerly social media director at Syracuse University and director of a
graduate program in communications at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School.
Admission to the show is free. Some of the art is available
for sale as prints, and the one-of-a-kind artworks are available via silent
auction at Trumpmania2016.com.
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2016.
I’m confused. Based on just a few of the “artwork” shown in your paper I’m wondering why you are promoting this disrespectful stuff, but advocating for the removal of the carousel artwork? From what I can see, you are clearly mocking Trump.