Art has always been a way to “speak truth to power.” It’s the voice of the dissenters and rabble rousers. The language of non-compliance. Art is how we rebel, how we spark change, how we launch ideological shifts.
As such, art and politics have always been intertwined and this year is no different. President Donald Trump’s statements about Muslims, Mexican immigrants, and women have sparked resistance by artists and rabble rousers across the nation. We’ve seen it in everything from incendiary installations to optimistic protest posters.
But for art to work, for it to matter, it has to start conversation. And that’s the precise objective of a recent collaboration between artist collective Indecline and painter Illma Gore.
“We were coming out of our polarizing election and looking at the divisiveness and anger,” says an Indecline spokeperson [ the group remains completely anonymous], “asking, ‘How do we start to close that chasm that’s been created?'”
They settled on a mural — which would reference our history while looking forward to a progressive future — painted completely in human blood. It’s called “Rise Up Thy Young Blood” and takes visual cues from a famous painting of Betsy Ross sewing the American flag, but in this case the men and women being portrayed reflect a diverse sidecut of our nation. There’s a Native American woman, a Black Lives Matter protester, a hat-wearing Trump fan, and a Muslim immigrant.
Sound incendiary? It’s not. At least not in the same way as Indecline’s famous statue of naked Trump, or Gore’s well-known painting of our president with a micropenis. The current piece is about moving forward and looking to reunite a fractured nation. In fact, one of the inferences of the Gore mural was echoed in Trump’s inauguration speech: we all bleed the same color.
The blood in question was donated by other artists, poets, punks, and brigands — and comes with a $1000 donation to the American Red Cross. It adds to the visceral feel of the work, transmitting a message that’s at once rebellious and deeply necessary.
“We want to use this blood for something bigger,” our Indecline spokesperson said, “and create something that actually touches people and inspires them to look from a different perspective.”
A noble aim in a time when divisions are deep and the nation is desperate for healing.
