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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Hail to the Hairpiece / Thursday Evening Open Thread: Artistic Appreciation

Thursday Evening Open Thread: Artistic Appreciation

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The Guggenheim — it’s getting more and more noticed, you might have heard — is a tremendously classy museum, founded on a rich celebrity’s personal relationships with all the best people. Being courted by the Guggenheim, getting on their board, is a well-established marker of HAVING MADE IT in New York society. Donald J. Trump is *never* going to get that golden ticket… and if I know New Yorkers, he will never be allowed to forget this 18-carat insult…

The emailed response from the Guggenheim’s chief curator to the White House was polite but firm: The museum could not accommodate a request to borrow a painting by Vincent Van Gogh for President and Melania Trump’s private living quarters.

Instead, wrote the curator, Nancy Spector, another piece was available, one that was nothing like “Landscape With Snow,” the 1888 Van Gogh rendering of a man in a black hat walking along a path in Arles, France, with his dog.

The curator’s alternative: an 18-karat, fully functioning, solid gold toilet — an interactive work titled “America” that critics have described as pointed satire aimed at the excess of wealth in this country.

For a year, the Guggenheim had exhibited “America” — the creation of contemporary artist Maurizio Cattelan — in a public restroom on the museum’s fifth floor for visitors to use.

But the exhibit was over and the toilet was available “should the President and First Lady have any interest in installing it in the White House,” Spector wrote in an email obtained by The Washington Post.

The artist “would like to offer it to the White House for a long-term loan,” wrote Spector, who has been critical of Trump. “It is, of course, extremely valuable and somewhat fragile, but we would provide all the instructions for its installation and care.”…

Cattelan, reached by phone in New York, referred questions about the toilet to the Guggenheim, saying with a chuckle, “It’s a very delicate subject.” Asked to explain the meaning of his creation and why he offered it to the Trumps, he said: “What’s the point of our life? Everything seems absurd until we die and then it makes sense.”

He declined to reveal the cost of the gold it took to create “America,” though it has been estimated to have been more than $1 million…

Trump is certainly more capable of appreciating a solid-gold toilet than a genuine Van Gogh. And, yes, I suspect that once the original was in his sweaty little hands, it would never have been seen again… except by those individuals lucky enough to visit some Russian oligarch’s dacha.

Reader Interactions

92Comments

  2. 2.

    JGabriel

    Anne Laurie @ Top:

    I suspect that once the original was in his sweaty little hands, it would never have been seen again… except by those individuals lucky enough to visit some Russian oligarch’s dacha.

    Or a black market art auction.

  5. 5.

    Arclite

    LOL. That’s hilarious. Funny thing is that the toilet is totally Trump’s style, and he’d accept it at face value, not realizing it was satire.

  6. 6.

    Mary G

    In other piggish men news, Casey Affleck won’t present the Oscar to the best actress this year. Good.

  7. 7.

    mai naem mobile

    Many many people did not know that the Guggenheim has very expensive art. Very expensive art that very rich people can afford.
    Umm, would anybody trust Crooked Donnie to return the Van Gogh after his term is over? I wouldn’t . I fully expect the grifter family to grab some historical pieces when theu get their asses kicked out of the WH.

  9. 9.

    Cermet

    Can anyone top telling the orange fart cloud he is so full of shit? That museum is certainly the best and get my vote. Classy, but requires a certain level of low brow insult that even a tRump voter could, maybe understand.

  10. 10.

    SiubhanDuinne

    The Guggenheim — it’s getting more and more noticed, you might have heard —

    What you did there was seen. And appreciated!

  12. 12.

    B.B.A.

    You mean he hasn’t already got one?

    Then again, can you really have too many solid gold toilets?

  13. 13.

    eemom

    Trump is certainly more capable of appreciating a solid-gold toilet than a genuine Van Gogh.

    See, I would have said he thinks the toilet IS a genuine Van Gogh.

  14. 14.

    Roger Moore

    I saw this, and I have to applaud the Guggenheim’s taste and judgment. They have Trump’s character nailed.

  15. 15.

    Corner Stone

    If I were the artist I would rename it as, “Throne of the American Shithole President”.

  16. 16.

    Corner Stone

    Tweety just said his dad was worried about “animation” taking jobs away from people like him.
    The dude is not mentally well.

  17. 17.

    Roger Moore

    Trump is certainly more capable of appreciating a solid-gold toilet than a genuine Van Gogh.

    Strictly speaking, though, it’s only 75% gold. It would only be solid gold if it were 24K.

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Corner Stone:

    If I were the artist I would rename it as, “Throne of the American Shithole President”.

    “The Royal Flush” might also work.

    BTW and O/T, I saw a couple of nights ago how elegantly you skewered my pompous pet peeve pedantry. Nicely done, and I regret only that I didn’t see/respond to it until the entire world was asleep!

  21. 21.

    chris

    Gold’s pretty soft, I wonder if it would support the 239 pound president. There’s an image I didn’t need to see.

  22. 22.

    ThresherK

    If I loaned that to Trump, would all the Sanitized for Your Protection wrappers in the world reassure me it came back clean?

  25. 25.

    Roger Moore

    @chris:
    Gold is soft when it’s very pure. This is 18K, which has been alloyed with enough other metal (usually silver, IIRC) to give it better mechanical properties. The toilet in question was actually installed as a functioning toilet in the Guggenheim Museum, so it’s been tested under tougher conditions than it would get in the White House. That said, even 24K gold would probably be strong enough to support someone considerably heavier than Trump.

  27. 27.

    Jeffro

    Cue donations to the Guggenheim in 3, 2, 1…

    Cue Russian Twitter bots firing up for #CloseTheGuggenheim in 3, 2, 1…

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack

    Oh, jeez. Tweety drops a clanger. Talking with Jason Johnson of The Root about changes in business and industry:

    My father was worried about animation. I mean, animation was something that could take other people’s jobs away from them.

    He said he was going to talk about this at the end of the show. I hope somebody tells him it’s automation.

    I feel a little bad making fun of Chris Matthews for a slip of the tongue, but he is such a self-important blowhard that in the end I couldn’t resist. Mea culpa.

  29. 29.

    Cacti

    The subtlety will sail right over Trump’s head and he’ll think:

    “Neato! A gold toilet!”

  32. 32.

    Roger Moore

    @ThresherK:

    If I loaned that to Trump, would all the Sanitized for Your Protection wrappers in the world reassure me it came back clean?

    You could autoclave the whole thing just to be sure. Gold can handle heat just fine.

  33. 33.

    Marcopolo

    I think the best part of the story is it breaking when Trumpleskin is in Davos. Have to believe that no small number of those “elites” he is trying to be a part of won’t be pointing & sniggering at him the entire time.

  36. 36.

    Shana

    I saw the article a little while ago and sent it to my art historian daughter. Thought she’d appreciate it.

  39. 39.

    different-church-lady

    @Roger Moore:

    …so it’s been tested under tougher conditions than it would get in the White House.

    Are you aware of how much crap comes out of that man?

  40. 40.

    Cacti

    @Marcopolo:

    I think the best part of the story is it breaking when Trumpleskin is in Davos. Have to believe that no small number of those “elites” he is trying to be a part of won’t be pointing & sniggering at him the entire time.

    I think the Davos crowd is feeling more smug than usual about how Trump almost singlehandedly torpedoed the European neofascist political parties.

    Their countries watched the train wreck from afar and thought that maybe handing the keys of government to friends of Dotard wasn’t such a great idea.

  41. 41.

    chris

    @Roger Moore: I know but facts take the fun out of it.

    The other image would be the man trying to take it with him when he’s running for the chopper ahead of the torchbearing mob. Thing must be incredibly heavy.

  43. 43.

    Corner Stone

    @Marcopolo:

    Have to believe that no small number of those “elites” he is trying to be a part of won’t be pointing & sniggering at him the entire time.

    They love Trump. He’s ignorant, lazy, bigoted. And the most easily rolled “negotiator” in US history. An easy target of derision and you only need one weird trick to get whatever deal you want from him.

  46. 46.

    Steeplejack

    @WaterGirl:

    It’s the Frederick Douglass meme. Trump:

    Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice.

  48. 48.

    Steeplejack

    WTF? Matthews didn’t say anything about automation or industry. He just Bannoned himself yet again about his Bobby Kennedy book.

  49. 49.

    jl

    Trump could ask to borrow one from Dutch museum. Hell, then he could go for a Rembrandt and a Vermeer too. But from what I’ve read today about Dutch being a prime source for Trump/Russian intelligence, he’d have to check the pix for bugs.

  51. 51.

    NotMax

    Would have returned it (collect) along with an insulting note (“Dear Jewseum”) upon discovering it isn’t painted on black velvet and doesn’t picture dogs playing poker.

  59. 59.

    Ken

    How does a museum set up security for such an exhibit? You can’t exactly have a guard or even a camera standing over a toilet that’s supposed to be used, but without some kind of monitoring anyone with a pocketknife could carve off a chunk.

  61. 61.

    danielx

    That painting is great because it’s a Van Gogh. It ought to be mine. It should be mine! It IS mine! I just have to get it from those people who have actually been letting the proles sit it!

  64. 64.

    mainmata

    @ruemara: This is actually done anyway. Trump despises the WH for lack of shitty bling so it’s not like he’s going to take anything whenever he leaves. Besides his next home will be Fort Leavenworth or Sing-Sing, depending upon which charge he is brought up on.

  65. 65.

    Redshift

    @mai naem mobile:

    I fully expect the grifter family to grab some historical pieces when theu get their asses kicked out of the WH.

    He can get tips from Sarah Huckleberry Sanders, whose extremely greedy dad apparently did his best to loot the Arkansas governor’s mansion when he moved out.

  67. 67.

    Redshift

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Chris Hayes says it would’ve been a “presidency ending move”. I wish I could believe that.

    Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The entire GOP has made it clear they’re willing to sell out the country to Russia for tax cuts and power, so it’s hard to imagine anything being so bad they’d turn on Trump.

  69. 69.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @WaterGirl:

    Sometime last year, I think for Black History Month (February), Trump said something really AWK-WARD about Frederick Douglass and how “he was being recognized more and more” — as though FD were currently alive and only just coming into his own. Our AL, I think, was having a bit of after-the-fact fun with that.

  74. 74.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Baud:

    If I had artistic talent, I’d paint a picture of Trump on his golden throne.

    I suspect I am far from the only one here giving pious thanks that you have no artistic talent.

  75. 75.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Ken:

    Why waste a salable print? Just print out a 640×480 gif on cheap copy paper with a color inkjet printer.

    Like the “original” Renoir on his private plane?

  76. 76.

    Anne Laurie

    @chris:

    Gold’s pretty soft, I wonder if it would support the 239 pound president.

    If you read the whole article, the “interactive” toilet has been stress-tested, by a whole parade of Guggenheim-goers who waited in line for the chance.

    The reporter was rude enough to say that the thought of second-hand contact with all those randos might be the only thing keeping germophobe Trump from accepting the offer!

  78. 78.

    Anne Laurie

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Like the “original” Renoir on his private plane?

    Y’know, that’s why I privately suspect one of Trump’s ‘backers’ personally requested he “borrow” this particular piece.

    All Lord Smallgloves knows about art is that a really top-notch work has brag value, because it’s worth so much money. That’s why, IMO, the idiot lie about that Renoir copy — because it was an expensive, hand-done copy, he figured it was worth “upselling” as the original, since he could bully most people who saw it into “accepting” his personal valuation. (After a few years, he might actually have convinced himself that he *had* the original, and all those museum people were just lying to inflate their own painting’s worth.)

    But the requested Van Gogh is not one of the reproductions-available-in-every-atelier pieces, is it? I have an image of some kleptocrat bragging to his fellows: Watch this — I can make the Americanski puppet take a masterpiece right out of one of the world’s great museums, and deliver it here for my pleasure!

    And Donny Dollhands would eagerly comply… either because he’s wholly owned, or because he’s deluded himself that it wouldn’t matter to the museum any more than it would matter to him whether a particular piece was ‘real’ or just ‘certified’.

  82. 82.

    different-church-lady

    @Anne Laurie:

    …the thought of second-hand contact with all those randos might be the only thing keeping germophobe Trump from accepting the offer!

    Which is what makes it such a brilliant troll on the part of the Guggenheim.

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Anne Laurie:

    I just wish I could be alive in 25 years, when all the great caper movies about the Diminutive Digit and his “art collection” will be box-office smashes.

  85. 85.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mary G:

    You should be a front pager. I am always in awe of your wordplay.

    Thank you very kindly for the lovely compliment, but gods forbid. We’re all much better off with my being an erratic commenter.

  87. 87.

    Jinchi

    I find it hard to believe that a man with the tacky taste of D. Trump doesn’t already own a gold toilet.

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