Catherine, A truly superlative piece. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. Yes, it would be very rewarding to see Norman Rockwell expose Trumpism, there are endless possibilities that I'm sure he would have captured with perfection. Maybe some aspiring artist who admired Rockwell's work will take up the mantle. What a beautiful way to salute the master.
Funny how all of the artists who identify as MAGAts are for shit. If they produced any art that people actually wanted to see or hear, then Trump wouldn't have to steal from lefties.
Seems a little fluffy at first, but no, art and artists are such a huge part of how we can resist authoritarians, and the usurping of art for their own propaganda is a real problem. Fortunately, since there is still copyright, perhaps they can try to put teeth into this. It might not work, but being on the legal record is at least something.
Great piece! One small correction that has no bearing on the content of the article itself but one I feel compelled to make for accuracy: the little girl in the famous Jan 1964 painting by Rockwell in Look Magazine “The Problem We All Live With” was never intended by Rockwell to represent Ruby Bridges, specifically, as has been often repeated, including in this article. The Norman Rockwell Museum, in collaboration with historians in New Orleans, has recently produced a short film about the creation of this painting, in which they state plainly that a single girl was depicted for stylistic and artistic reasons, but she was meant to represent all 4 of the girls who integrated New Orleans public schools that November day in 1960. Rockwell never met Ruby Bridges and wasn’t painting Ruby Bridges, but “all of them”. I was able to see a screening of the film in New Orleans just last month and I believe the museum intends to make it more widely available soon. Worth a watch, whether you like history or Rockwell.
This one pissed me off to be blunt about it. Yes many of his paintings are idealized, but they were reflecting many of the rights we are supposed to have, but the orange Shitler is trying to hijack these as his own when he believes in none of them except for himself, which is a major delusion. While a lot of his work was done for the Sat. Evening Post, who do they belong to now? If the family or a museum, can they sue for misrepresentation or something like that? It just seems like he has got to be pre-empted from taking over others’ work and turning it into something it isn’t. I’ve heard that he’s furious that artists are cancelling performances at the Kennedy Center because he put his name on it. Let him stew in it and may many more artists refuse to kiss his oversized derrière.
Can someone explain why wind energy projects have to be suspended for "national security reasons"? I guess the wind is likely to stop blowing from the sea to the land or from the land to the sea, depending on weather conditions. Just like that, millions of years of weather history goes in the toilet. Amazing!
Important information on MAGA exploitation of Rockwell, an American icon. and that that the Saturday Evening Post put limits on depicting Blacks. Benjamin Franklin would not have approved. Has the Post apologized? Tactically, it seems pointless for Trump to launch this racist campaign; he got an increased vote from Black men in 2024 that he may now lose. Anybody have an explanation?
Why am I skeptical regarding Trump's 4.3 percent economic growth rate? I guess I'm just skeptical, since Trump and his sycophants lie almost every time they open their mouths. I also question what Trump and company have done to improve the growth rate, since the economy appeared to be tanking in the previous quarter. I must be another Trumpian miracle!
Re Howard Lutnick: I’m sure you recognize the difference between a good manager and a bad one, also the benefit of lucky timing. Cantor Fitzgerald (was there ever a Cantor and a Fitzgerald or was that a more attractive name than Lutnick & Co? - I love Tim’s mispronunciation, btw) was a brokerage - you needed confidence and the ability to make connections, not necessarily brains. It arrived at the time that the market for mortgage backed securities was just being developed, after Lew Ranieri of Salomon created them. Cantor rode that wave through the late 80s and 90s and got themselves top floor offices in the WTC in the years before 9/11. They had branched out substantially by then but they lost 1/3 of their employees that day. Lutnick lost his brother (who may have been the smart one) but made himself a hero to the families of his lost employees for at least a decade after. You really cannot call him the head of an investment bank - Hank Paulson or Lloyd Blankfein he is not.
We live about 15 minutes from the Rockwell Museum. When we first moved here we resisted visiting for a long time. His work seemed so cliched, so out of step with the America my 60s generation considered desirable. In time, though, we overcame prejudice, visited often, and grew to see him for what he was: the artist charged with reminding us in paint to be—in Lincoln’s words—“the better angels of ourselves.” Trump may try to appropriate Rockwell but, condemned as he is to lifelong cluelessness, will never come close.
I say let them keep highlighting their dull thinking by holding themselves up next to art. We can’t make him stop doing that jerk-off dance but he certainly beclowns himself all the more every time he does it. Why not just let the youngs hear “Born In The USA” and “Rockin’ In The Free World” and go, Wait. Sounds not that.
https://www.facebook.com/share/16GrLk6m4P/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Catherine, A truly superlative piece. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. Yes, it would be very rewarding to see Norman Rockwell expose Trumpism, there are endless possibilities that I'm sure he would have captured with perfection. Maybe some aspiring artist who admired Rockwell's work will take up the mantle. What a beautiful way to salute the master.
Funny how all of the artists who identify as MAGAts are for shit. If they produced any art that people actually wanted to see or hear, then Trump wouldn't have to steal from lefties.
Seems a little fluffy at first, but no, art and artists are such a huge part of how we can resist authoritarians, and the usurping of art for their own propaganda is a real problem. Fortunately, since there is still copyright, perhaps they can try to put teeth into this. It might not work, but being on the legal record is at least something.
You keep misspelling Howard Nutlick
gag...gag...barf!!
Great piece! One small correction that has no bearing on the content of the article itself but one I feel compelled to make for accuracy: the little girl in the famous Jan 1964 painting by Rockwell in Look Magazine “The Problem We All Live With” was never intended by Rockwell to represent Ruby Bridges, specifically, as has been often repeated, including in this article. The Norman Rockwell Museum, in collaboration with historians in New Orleans, has recently produced a short film about the creation of this painting, in which they state plainly that a single girl was depicted for stylistic and artistic reasons, but she was meant to represent all 4 of the girls who integrated New Orleans public schools that November day in 1960. Rockwell never met Ruby Bridges and wasn’t painting Ruby Bridges, but “all of them”. I was able to see a screening of the film in New Orleans just last month and I believe the museum intends to make it more widely available soon. Worth a watch, whether you like history or Rockwell.
This one pissed me off to be blunt about it. Yes many of his paintings are idealized, but they were reflecting many of the rights we are supposed to have, but the orange Shitler is trying to hijack these as his own when he believes in none of them except for himself, which is a major delusion. While a lot of his work was done for the Sat. Evening Post, who do they belong to now? If the family or a museum, can they sue for misrepresentation or something like that? It just seems like he has got to be pre-empted from taking over others’ work and turning it into something it isn’t. I’ve heard that he’s furious that artists are cancelling performances at the Kennedy Center because he put his name on it. Let him stew in it and may many more artists refuse to kiss his oversized derrière.
Can someone explain why wind energy projects have to be suspended for "national security reasons"? I guess the wind is likely to stop blowing from the sea to the land or from the land to the sea, depending on weather conditions. Just like that, millions of years of weather history goes in the toilet. Amazing!
Important information on MAGA exploitation of Rockwell, an American icon. and that that the Saturday Evening Post put limits on depicting Blacks. Benjamin Franklin would not have approved. Has the Post apologized? Tactically, it seems pointless for Trump to launch this racist campaign; he got an increased vote from Black men in 2024 that he may now lose. Anybody have an explanation?
This is pretty far from a study of economics. Please keep surprising us here and there.
Great newsletter! So glad Catherine joined the Bulwark team.
Why am I skeptical regarding Trump's 4.3 percent economic growth rate? I guess I'm just skeptical, since Trump and his sycophants lie almost every time they open their mouths. I also question what Trump and company have done to improve the growth rate, since the economy appeared to be tanking in the previous quarter. I must be another Trumpian miracle!
AI build up is goosing the economy at the moment. It could be a bubble though.
Re Howard Lutnick: I’m sure you recognize the difference between a good manager and a bad one, also the benefit of lucky timing. Cantor Fitzgerald (was there ever a Cantor and a Fitzgerald or was that a more attractive name than Lutnick & Co? - I love Tim’s mispronunciation, btw) was a brokerage - you needed confidence and the ability to make connections, not necessarily brains. It arrived at the time that the market for mortgage backed securities was just being developed, after Lew Ranieri of Salomon created them. Cantor rode that wave through the late 80s and 90s and got themselves top floor offices in the WTC in the years before 9/11. They had branched out substantially by then but they lost 1/3 of their employees that day. Lutnick lost his brother (who may have been the smart one) but made himself a hero to the families of his lost employees for at least a decade after. You really cannot call him the head of an investment bank - Hank Paulson or Lloyd Blankfein he is not.
We live about 15 minutes from the Rockwell Museum. When we first moved here we resisted visiting for a long time. His work seemed so cliched, so out of step with the America my 60s generation considered desirable. In time, though, we overcame prejudice, visited often, and grew to see him for what he was: the artist charged with reminding us in paint to be—in Lincoln’s words—“the better angels of ourselves.” Trump may try to appropriate Rockwell but, condemned as he is to lifelong cluelessness, will never come close.
I say let them keep highlighting their dull thinking by holding themselves up next to art. We can’t make him stop doing that jerk-off dance but he certainly beclowns himself all the more every time he does it. Why not just let the youngs hear “Born In The USA” and “Rockin’ In The Free World” and go, Wait. Sounds not that.