Oil on Canvas. Triptych: 3 canvases 36 x 48 inches each
The Birth of Venal mobilizes imagery from Sandro Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece popularly known as “The Birth of Venus” to expose Donald Trump’s political persona as a myth. What is a myth but a type of lie that many people want to believe? The Birth of Venal depicts the psychological and contextual framework that contributed to the events of January 6, 2021: Trump’s narcissism in the presence of enablers, opportunists, and a setting of corrupt influence. Trump’s narcissism – his fundamental flaw – engenders an insatiable need for admiration that ironically disqualifies him from receiving the sincere admiration he desperately seeks. As someone profoundly damaged, unwilling to acknowledge the worth of others, he is left with needs that can never be met. This predicament allegedly led to unlawful business practices prior to his presidency, corrupt election interference in both 2016 and 2020, retaliation against adversaries and former intimates alike, and the eventual inability to accept electoral defeat.
Just as Trump takes the position of the goddess, Venus, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner appear as mythical figures in the position of the wind deities in Botticelli’s painting. Entwined in flight, they appear to be joined, as in the “Javanka,” nickname by which they are known in the celebrity press. Here, the myth in question is the wishful notion held by some observers that Trump’s daughter and son-in-law held moderate views and would act as voices of reason against the president’s worst impulses. The record shows that not only did they fail to do so, they used their official roles to significant financial advantage. In the modern context, flight is for superheroes. Here, it signals their grandiose pretensions to administration roles for which they lacked the required experience and credentials. Ivanka’s mermaid tail references “The Swamp,” of nepotism, Hatch Act violations, and allegations of corruption. Their university mottoes are corrupted here to signal education and privilege in the service of personal enrichment. Penn’s Leges Sin Moribus Vanae (Laws Without Morals are Useless) becomes Moribus Vanae (Morals are Useless). Harvard’s VERITAS (Truth) becomes VERITAS IRRIDEO (I Mock Truth.) Behind the couple are Manhattan skyscrapers that all seem to bear the name “TRUMP.” Under distant clouds, the Statue of Liberty appears to be askew atop her perch in New York Harbor.
At right stands Melania Trump in the position of Botticelli’s Hora, Goddess of Spring. Complicity is suggested by her pose, as she attempts to cover Trump’s naked figure. His robe reads, “. . . Rumpus Maximus Rex Debitum,” (Biggest Rumpus King of Debt), Meanwhile, her green cloak is decorated by a border that reads, “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U? Corruption and Russian influence as a background for the Trump Presidency is represented by the figure of Putin at far right. He drops something into a golden river that flows into the scallop shell on which Trump stands. Behind him are the onion domes of St. Basil’s that sport the Name “. . .rump Mock . . .a” ([T]rump Mock[b]a — Moscow in Cyrillic letters).
In short, myth-making converted a television huckster into a candidate. The atmosphere of impunity abetted by Republican complicity and that of Trump’s inner circle has created a dangerous situation.