Anti-Trump ‘resistance art’ receives a City Hall showcase

By Matthew Chayesmatthew.chayes@newsday.com chayesmatthewFebruary 28, 2018

Thousands of Post-it notes stuck on the Union Square station as “Subway Therapy” to cope with Donald Trump.

The Museum of Modern Art highlighting art from Muslim-majority nations subject to the president’s travel ban.

A pro-Trump painter depicting a snake-stomping president surrounded by a young family, cops, miners and the military.

A City Council committee on Wednesday is examining “Art as Resistance State in Trump’s America,” where lawmakers are showcasing work done in the aftermath of the 2016 election — nearly all critical of the 45th president.

“At a time when the current resident in the White House seems hell-bent on dividing this beautiful country that I grew to love as an immigrant girl, I know for sure that it will be the dancers, musicians, writers, filmmakers, photographers, painters, sculptors and poets who will make sure we continue to rise,” said Debbie Officer of Brooklyn, an editor for African Voices magazine.

Some, but not all, of the art considered Wednesday at City Hall was funded from the city’s $180 million cultural affairs budget, which is charged with distributing taxpayer dollars without regard to politics.

Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl told lawmakers that “following the 2016 presidential election, many nonprofit cultural organizations expressed a need to offer support to their communities and advocate for themselves.”

Last year, his department helped convene a panel to guide nonprofits and artists in doing political art.

“What constitutes political activity?” was one question, he said. “Is it permissible for a nonprofit to be involved in electoral politics?” was another.

Finkelpearl said his department does not track the political leanings of artists the city funds.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Queens), who chaired the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations, which held Wednesday’s hearing, said art is especially important in contemporary America.

“This can be a scary time for a lot of people in this country,” Van Bramer said.

He added: “All of us — I won’t say all of us — a lot of us in this moment of Trump are constantly searching for that nugget — right? — that allows you to be hopeful, that promises a better tomorrow than today.”

To Van Bramer’s right on the dais physically and politically: one of the three Republican members in the 51-member council, Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island), a Trump pin in his suit coat buttonhole.

“I think oftentimes, art represents the avant garde of society, but from this hearing, it seems like the New York City art scene is an echo chamber,” Borelli said. “You’re using poetry to bash the Trump administration. How original.”

He added: “I think it’s also in many ways a paradox for artists who testified that they are fearful of government to be participating in a government hearing that is seeking to define the boundaries of an art movement, especially since nearly all of those testifying will be asking for city funds and already operate almost entirely on government funds.”