Soon after the election in November, the New York art world caught Ivanka Trump in its creative crosshairs. The grassroots movement Dear Ivanka was launched in answer to the now-First Daughter’s love of contemporary art — a love not reciprocated by the contemporary artists who called her out with a candlelight vigil and a fake moving party.
Now the group behind the ongoing protest — Halt Action Group — has set its sights on her dad. AKA the president, AKA the guy who bragged about sexually assaulting women on those now-infamous Access Hollywood “pussy tapes.” A few hours before the sun rose on International Women’s Day, HAG members wheatpasted around 1,000 images of the president and his braggadocious monologue all over Manhattan. The posters — designed by Marilyn Minter and erected by graffiti artist KATSU — quickly went viral on social media after being shared by numerous locals and J.K. Rowling.
‘I have tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society & our economy.’ Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/JveWBihQFg
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 8, 2017
“We felt that the viral presence of the poster — it was all over Twitter and Instagram, and used by well-respected writers and commentators in their posts on women’s issues yesterday — was a potent tool to refute the normalization of the Trump administration,” HAG co-founder Alison Gingeras told artnet News. She warned of “the collective amnesia that can dangerously set in when it comes to Trump’s history of violence (verbal and sexual) towards women.”
Minter, who gave a very timely talk about feminism with Madonna on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, said she has “been making nothing but resistance propaganda since November 9.” Minter is now trying to target the 90 million Americans who failed to show up to the polls this election cycle. And while New York City was undeniably swarming with pantsuits and Hillary pins on November 8, HAG is determined to pop the liberal bubble. Its artist-activists are planning to carry out wheatpaste propaganda protests in other cities, and are encouraging people to download a high-res version of their poster to print and distribute themselves. According to Minter, museums have even been hitting her up to purchase the design as an actual 3D bronze plaque.
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Image via Instagram