Ah yes… politics and art have gone hand-in-hand since, well, forever. I’m Canadian, but it’s pretty much impossible not to watch what’s happening in the United States at the moment. Enter, “Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump”. This book is a visual protest of the Trump administration featuring 147 artists with over 350 works. The creator of this project is American activist and curator Karen M. Gutfreund. Here is a description of this timely collection:

“Artists around the United States are raging against Donald Trump in visual protest. Not Normal: Art in the Age of Trump, Second Edition, documents this artistic movement in a curated collection. Their outrage is evidenced in full Technicolor on subjects ranging from racism, the Covid pandemic, xenophobia, immigration, promotion of hatred and violence, mistrust of science and facts, misogyny and of course, a narcissism that puts our entire country and world at great risk. While the subject matter is serious, the art is alive with color and detail and is delivered with an irreverent sense of humor.”

2020 will most certainly be one for the history books, and seeing what artists create during this time might be the only thing keeping me going. I’m bracing myself for angry Trump supporters, as everyone has their right to their opinion. That said, all of these artists also have the right to create artwork based on how they feel. I see this as a time capsule… a surreal, ‘this is so not normal’, time capsule.

{Artists show above: 1. India Tresselt; 2. Holly Ballard Martz; 3. Brenda Oelbaum; 4. Michele Pred; 5. Bryan Buckley; 6. Tm Gratkowski; 7. Cabell Molina + more pieces can be seen here}