"Trumptown", Acrylic, fabric and paper collage on wood, 10"x10"
I am not one who likes to discuss politics. I am one, however, like every other human being, animal and amoeba sharing this earth, is one who is feeling the deep effects of our new political situation at the hands of our new president.
As an artist, my emotions come out through my work. I pour my happiness or in this case, frustration into a piece. This is a collage that speaks to that hypocritical, political "promise" that we are all too familiar with, "Make America Great Again!". (I personally didn't feel a need for much improvement after Obama).
When I started this piece, I found myself creating a base of dark colors, navy blue. I then wanted to add some hope (which is what I crave politically) and so I added brighter blues and greens. When I went to fine inspiration from my stash of recycled papers, envelopes, etc. I was shocked to find a disclaimer page that had accompanied an old insurance letter. The two white strips of text at the top of the collage discuss (ironically when thinking about Trump) how we treat people in this country, (or claim to). The roses' stems represent that same statement in various languages.
I always gravitate to my stash of old children's books and primers and that is where I found one entitled, "Wake- up Town", which tells a story of a beautiful place to live. I used the illustration of the concrete sign and all the "promises" in puts forth: "Clean streets; Beautiful homes; Excellent Water supply (my mind and heart then went to Flint, Michigan), etc. I thought the illustration of the little boy and his megaphone summed up how I have felt since the elections...a lot of noise.
Finally, when I looked into my fabric scraps from previous projects, my eyes caught a selvedge that actually said, "protected soil", and I thought...yeah, protected soil, stop fracking and opening our sacred green spaces...our national forests and parks.
I don't want to live in Trumptown, thank you very much. So I will push back in my own, small, more polite ways...through art, writing and action. I hope you'll do the same!
