$1.4M Painting of Nude Trump Triggers 'Death Threats'
Illma Gore's piece hangs in London gallery
By Neal Colgrass, Newser Staff
Posted Apr 17, 2016 3:55 PM CDT
Updated Apr 17, 2016 4:30 PM CDT
newser.com
(NEWSER) – An LA-based artist is facing a possible lawsuit and thousands of apparent death threats over her painting of Donald Trump in the buff, the Guardian reports. Illma Gore's piece, "Making America Great Again," is hanging at the Maddox Gallery in London after US galleries refused to show it over security concerns. Why the big stir? In part because the Republican presidential candidate's penis appears a little small—especially when compared to the painting's $1.4 million price tag. "Who knew it would be such a big deal?" says Gore. "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." She says she went to Britain after receiving the anonymous death threats.
The painting went viral on Gore's Facebook page in February until the site banned it, CBS News reports. An anonymous Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice also threatened to sue Gore if she sells the work. (She's offering downloads on her website, where she writes that "your genitals do not define your gender, your power, or your status. Simply put, you can be a massive prick, despite what is in your pants.") Cordelia de Freitas, director of the Maddox gallery, says interest rose in the 11" by 14" painting after Trump referenced the size of his genitals in a debate. Hundreds of people have gone to see the painting in London, where Gore says reaction "has been incredibly supportive. Everywhere apart from America has been great." (Gore has also turned her body into a "crowdsourced art installation.") |
