and a lawsuit!
Illma Gore’s painting of a nude Donald Trump. Photograph: Courtesy of Illma Gore
An infamous nude of Donald Trump has attracted bids of over £100,000 after it went on display at the Maddox Gallery in Mayfair, London, last week, but the artist is being anonymously threatened with legal action if she sells it, due to its resemblance to the Republican presidential hopeful.
The piece by Illma Gore, titled Make America Great Again, depicts Trump with a small penis. It went viral in February after the artist published it on her Facebook page and has since been censored on social media sites and delisted from eBay after the anonymous filing of a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice threatening to sue Gore.
The Maddox Gallery in London offered to exhibit the painting after galleries in the US refused to host the piece due to security concerns following threats of violence from Trump’s supporters. Hundreds of visitors have queued to see the work.
Gore said: “The reaction, especially in the UK, has been incredibly supportive. Everywhere apart from America has been great. Who knew it would be such a big deal? I think an artist’s job is to take the times we’re living in and then set the scene. It is a representation of where we are.”
The LA-based artist has received thousands of death threats and travelled to the UK to escape the frenzy, agreeing to allow Mayfair to manage the sale of the controversial painting, now priced at £1m.
The artist is offering free downloads of the art work on her website. (NSFW). The Guardian has the full story, but be aware the full art work is shown, and is NSFW.
This is so hilarious I can’t stand it. And dignified. Did I mention dignified?
Oh gods, I know. I so hope it’s an American who buys the damn thing. One with enough clout to get it into a major uStates museum. Just because.
This all happened months ago, too. I had no idea. I can’t bring myself to download a copy, but I hope it gets spread all over the place. So to speak.
I want Trump to sue her, having to demonstrate in court that the nude doesn’t actually resemble his nether regions and then lose anyway because artistic freedom.
Giliell:
Urgh. I wouldn’t want to be the judge.
I’m all for mocking Trump but this implies there is something degrading about having a micropenis. :/
/end wet blanket mode
Siobhan, in fairness, this all does stem from Trump himself, and his near constant defense of his small hands, and his response to Rubio’s gibe, implying he had a hyuuuuge penis.
That said, no, it isn’t right to imply having a small penis is a bad or terrible thing.
Well, honestly the penis depiction in the painting is quite bad. It kinda looks like it’s something sticking out of a water bag or something.
Giliell:
Looked like a “been swimming” penis to me. I was more curious as to why there were no testicles.
I would think that subtle message is obvious…
Not all that subtle, but yes, on the obvious side. I wouldn’t have done that -- I would have attached the little marbles, and let size speak for itself.
But there is a change, although minuscule, that the fairy tale might not have a happy ending this time.
Damn … It was … cold.
That’s so small that it could hardly be considered offensive.
Hey, Donald … there’s a cherub over here that wants his schlong back.
I usually don’t make fun of a person’s physical shortcomings, but with Trump I’ll make an exception.
Okay, so I ended up here because of the latest story involving Illma, “Rise Up Thy Young Blood”. Because that story is about a work in progress and there’s so much left unknown/undone I find this story -- featuring a complete work of art -- more compelling.
As someone who has had a penis, I have to say that the “micropenis” above doesn’t strike me as “micropenis” at all. Really more like a regular penis contracted after a dip in cold water or the like.
As someone with a legal education, I have to say that the First Amendment decidedly protects this image. After Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 (1988), it should be malpractice for someone to advise Trump that this art could be the reasonable basis for a lawsuit.
As someone with a life (and a mind), I have to say that the douche-gabbing jerk faces who are issuing death threats over this have to receive a lot more mocking and derision than they have up til now. And I really don’t much care the amount of mocking and derision they’ve previously received.
Seriously, this world makes me ill sometimes.
CD:
Aye, me too. Ms. Gore was assaulted by one of those douche-gabbing jerk faces, and I’m sure they’ll be up in arms over the latest piece, too. All those “anti-PC, free speech” lovin’ assholes can’t contend with tiniest of criticisms.