Ok, this has been a long time since I posted on this hellsite, but I’m hot, irritated and been watching a little too much Stephen Colbert.
I fucking love “Crossing the Swamp” by John Mcnaughton.
I really do, for a couple of very important reasons, none of them being the intention of the artist. My memory of the far off time of 2016 is vague, but I remember Trump saying that he was going to “Drain the swamp” of corruption in Washington.
Firstly, lets look at what it’s trying to replicate, the famous “Crossing the Delaware” painting by Emanuel Leutze (picture 2). Purely from a compositional standpoint, Leutze has created imagery of hope and struggling together, with Washington leading from the front, sword at his side, navigating the frigid river with precision and care. Mcnaughton, by contrast seems to have tapped into the “lost in the everglades at nighttime” vibe that, to me, indicates poor planning, incompetence and paranoia. The crew of the boat look less like they are going to fight an enemy, and more like they are wondering who to got them into this mess.
Secondly, let’s look at the people involved in the picture. List of figures from left to right:
Nikki Haley, (appointed ambassador to the UN, resigned in October 2018 due to corruption investigation)
James Mattis, (appointed defense secretary, resigned/ “fired” in 2019 due to the Syria withdrawal)
Ben Carson, (still in office, but seems to be forgotten and ignored, particularly now that he’s on the Covid-19 taskforce)
President Trump, (still in)
Jeff Sessions, (appointed attorney general, resigned after the mid-terms in 2018 “at presidential request” (according to wikipedia))
Mike Pence, (Still in)
Melania Trump, (Still in)
Mike Pompeo, (Still in, director of the CIA after Rex Tillerson)
Sarah Sanders, (appointed Press secretary, resigned 30 june 2019)
Ivanka Trump, (Still in)
John Bolton, (Appointed national security advisor, out in september 2019, wrote his tell all book)
Kellyanne Conway, (still in, somehow)
John Kelly, (appointed secretary of homeland security, resigned in december 2018)
Most of the people who have resigned have less than great things to say about Mr trump, painting him in the same light as a two-faced diva, who praises with one breath and damns with the next. Not conclusive proof, but patterns do emerge.
Even if you dis-regard the things those who have left have said, the fact that so many people have resigned/ been forced to resign does not paint the stability of this presidency in the greatest of light.
Finally, I want to finish with this point. I’m not an art historian (if anyone else wants to comment on this, please do so, I welcome your input) but I’ve taught GCSE history long enough to know that these kinds of paintings get really needled by historians, usually to demonstrate the egoism or folly of a regime. In 30 years time, I don’t doubt that I will be marking papers from students looking at this painting and doing a similar dissection in it for a 4 mark question. Looking at this painting, I feel like I am looking at a part of history. not in the noble, great pursuits, type of history or the horrible wicked deeds kind of history, but in the bumbling naivety side that makes us look back and go “Oh, that didn’t work out well at all.”