Consequential moments in American politics have long been depicted in the art world.
President Abraham Lincolnâs 1865 assassination is the subject of numerous works exhibited from institutions like The Metropolitan Museum of Art to Fordâs Theater, where the infamous shooting took place. Ditto for President John F. Kennedyâs 1963 assassination, which has been explored widely across contemporary art. Andy Warholâs âJackieâ series famously depicted the former First Lady both at the peak of Kennedyâs powers and in the tragic aftermath of her husbandâs murder.
Following Saturdayâs (Jul. 13) assassination attempt on former President Donald J. Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., it should come as no surprise that several digital artists were quick to put their own stamp on the event. Given the striking nature of the photographs from the shooting, showing a bloodied but defiant Trump hoisting a fist against an American flag backdrop, additional pieces will likely emerge in the days ahead.
Here is a roundup of some of the notable digital artists who have posted their own depictions of the assassination attempt so far.
Beeple has been creating daily artworks in hisEverydays seriesfor more than 14 years, famously selling a composite of his first 5,000 pieces for more than $69 million at Christieâs in 2021. As soon as the news of the shooting broke out, a number of web3 figuresbegan speculatingon how the top-selling NFT artist of all time would immortalize the incident. The artist that weâve described asâa political cartoonist for Internet cultureâdelivered an austere interpretation of AP photographer Evan Vucciâs enduring image from the dayâs events.
Yungjake (born Jake Patterson) is a Los Angeles-based artist who has garnered considerable attention with his emoji portraits of celebrities like Justin Bieber and Kim Kardashian, earning features inThe New York TimesandW Magazine. In an early Sunday morning post, Patterson opted to reimagine Vucciâs photo through his pointillist, pop culture lens by isolating Trump and the female Secret Service agent on his right against a stark white backdrop.
Recognized as aNext Up artistin January, Bold Leonidas regularly captures the topic du jour on crypto Twitter with light-hearted hand-drawn cartoons. Posted just hours after the news broke, Leonidas channeled âThe Matrixâ movies in showing Trump dodging a streaking bullet in full Neo fashion. Leonidas couldnât resist posting a second piece on Sunday morning featuring Lincoln and lampooning the early media reports that attributed the incident to a âfall.â
After a poster compared Vucciâs ubiquitous photo of Trump to anime superhero All Might from the My Hero Academia series, digital artist Foonie created a dedicated work depicting a fist-pumping Trump in a similar manga-inspired style. At the time of publication, the post has garnered more than 4 million views.
Recognized onour Black History Month listof artists bringing unique art to web3, Nigerian artist Ifure Usen frequently demonstrates his prowess with the pencil through his prolific drawings. On Sunday afternoon, Usen unveiled his latest piece inspired by another Evan Vucci photograph from the scene, showing a blood-streaked Trump with a clenched fist beneath the American flagâs red stripes. He also shared atime-lapse videoof the pieceâs creation in an earlier post.
A beloved member of the Mog Coin community, Arch has been âmoggingâ Beepleâs Everydays by adding the memecoinâs trademark Pit Viper sunglasses and laughing cat to his works each day. Today was no exception.
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