Tag Archives for Donald Trump

Celebration Day – Led Zeppelin

Artist as Rock & Roll Enthusiast (aka ARE) Post: 24

I’ve always loved this song. As a kid, I was sold within the first five seconds. It’s one of Led Zeppelin’s best and remains a favorite. I’d tell you where it ranks on my all-time Led Zeppelin list (yes, I did that) but unfortunately, I can’t locate my list at the moment.

This post is more about why this song came to mind, today. Today is the last day of the Trump Administration. That alone is a reason for celebration. This is the beginning of the end for him. Trump for jail. Beyond the title, the lyrics of the song came to mind. The third verse reminded me of what the future holds for Trump and the Trump brand.

This song was written in 1970, but like many lyrics of that time, they speak about our world today. Serving as another reminder that the more things change the more they stay the same. Real progress and true changes come at a glacial pace.

“Her face is cracked from smiling, all the fears that she’s been hiding, 
And it seems pretty soon everybody’s gonna know. 
And her voice is sore from shouting, cheering winners who are losing, 
And she worries if their days are few and soon they’ll have to go. 

My, my, my, I’m so happy, I’m gonna join the band, 
We are gonna dance and sing in celebration, We are in the promised land. 

She hears them talk of new ways to protect the home she lives in, 
Then she wonders what it’s all about when they break down the door.
Her name is Brown or White or Black, you know her very well, 
You hear her cries of mercy as the winners toll the bell. 

My, my, my, I’m so happy, I’m gonna join the band, 
We are gonna dance and sing in celebration, We are in the promised land. 

There is a train that leaves the station heading for your destination, 
But the price you pay to nowhere has increased a dollar more. 
Yes, it has! 
And if you walk you’re gonna get there though it takes a little longer, 
And when you see it in the distance you will wring your hands and moan.”

Idiots Rule

In a softball interview with Laura Ingraham, Trump claimed people came out of the dark shadows (racist trope) to Washington to disrupt his convention last Friday. He said people wearing black came on planes to Washington (more bigotry). Dark forces were at play.

Trump made the decision to move his speech to the White House a few weeks ago. Even though this is the same day many thousands of people were arriving for the 57th ANNUAL March on Washington.

Unless you’re a racist idiot like the president, you’ve already put two and two together. Their plans were on the calendar long before his.

Do you think he was told this might be a problem and ignored the advice? I’m wondering if anyone bothers to tell him things like this anymore. Then again, I also wonder if the dumbest of dumb shit happens because the most idiotic of loyalists are the only ones remaining in his inner circle.

No matter how you slice it, idiots rule.

Numb Rage

How many of you are vacillating between feeling numb and full of rage with little to no buffer between the extremes??? My anxiety makes me revolve pretty damn fast on a normal day. These days it feels like mental whiplash.

The George W. Bush presidency made me upset enough to generate creative energy and be very productive. Trump, that asshole, is jamming me!!! That said, I keep fighting, kicking my own ass toward creative progress. The things I’m interested in most and have been making work about for years are still very real and present (cultural hypocrisy etc.). Unfortunately for me, Trump sucks all the air out of the room and my non-Trump ideas get buried. Therefore, I’m running with that at the moment. The numb rage of living through these days makes me make art specifically about this time.

Numb Rage – I’ll have to use that for a title of a new piece of art. Alright, here we go. Let it flow.

 

Anyone Else Would Do Better

If you know me, you might know that I suffer from a level of anxiety that can be somewhat debilitating. I mask it well in public and within the company of friends. If you ever wondered why I do this or don’t do that, anxiety is your answer. It’s something that’s just in the mix as part of everyday life for me. My employment situation (and all that comes with it) has already generated plenty of high anxiety. Add in this pandemic and it’s limitless repercussions has me thinking until my head hurts.

Anyways, now that we’re in the midst of this pandemic, who’d you rather have in charge? The answer is basically anyone but Donald Trump. Anyone would do a better job than this guy. Trump is the worst kind of person to have in charge of your well being.

Look man, I’ve been saying this con man was the biggest asshole in the country for a long time. Since the 1980’s. I’m old enough to remember the USFL. He ruined that like everything else he touches. I’m old enough to have elders mention Trump as an example of how not to act because it was not the way a dignified man behaves. Many of those elders have become full time apologists with some brand of cognitive dissonance that is foreign to me. Now more than ever before, it seems like a twisted moral and ethical code is alright as long as you go to church on Sunday.

Now Trump says some states are lying about the amount of ventilators needed. He’s also insinuated that a ventilator may not be needed if you’re already so close to death. He commits impeachable offenses almost every day. The bar is set so low with this guy. The Fuckface in the White House is a man that chooses to be evil. He has so little value for human life. His essence is shit. He lacks integrity in every way. He doesn’t have an ounce of empathy for anyone but himself which makes him a subhuman sociopath.

We’re living through hell, the worst of it to me is knowing that so many people are supporters of and therefore apologists for this unbelievable bullshit.

Stay safe and stay sane.

The Evil Within The Collective Mind

The evil within the collective mind of the trailer park Pharisees was on full display last night. Fasten your seatbelts and make sure you’re ready to vote. This kind of humanity (of lack of) needs to be excreted and flushed down the toilet.

Empathy is a defining characteristic of humanity. To have no empathy is to be subhuman.

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/17/742896827/trump-attacks-congresswomen-at-n-c-rally-as-crowd-chants-send-her-back

Finishing Touches

Another quick art studio update. Last week, I placed some finishing touches (AKA: trimming, numbering and signing) on a couple of new series of silkscreen prints. More prints are in development. All are for sale. Eventually through a web presence. Until then contact me directly at brett@brettcallero.com if interested in any way.

Donny & the Stooges

Hey friends, what’s happening? I’ve got something to say. Creative people that do not like what passes for leadership today need to do something about it by making something about it. I’m not saying to make it your main creative outlet. Have it be that other creative release you do outside of your normal body of work. It should be your interesting side project These times call for us to do this. That’s what I am doing with the street art and screenprints I’ve been making. They’re like advertisements and clearly come with a finer, sharper point that my other bodies of work.

This stuff is my punk rock side project! I believe every artist needs to speak up and visually communicate as they can only do. I am compelled to do something, artists of the world need to write their protest songs. Get to work!

Mini manifesto aside, I’m posting about my latest contribution to putting my art where my mouth is. I’ve been messing around with a new idea. Planning on making many different pieces based on the concept of Donny & the Stooges. My inspiration of course is Trump and his greatest enablers. The concept combined this with the visual culture of the Stooges (later known as Iggy & the Stooges), who are of course, the legendary, groundbreaking, highly influential, ass kicking pre-punk band from Detroit that featured the one and only Jim Osterberg (AKA Iggy Pop).

Today, I noticed that my initial instagram post about this new artwork was taken off of my Instagram page. Censorship is real. Big brother (in the form of a threatened conservative) in action. Interestingly enough, I noticed this by visiting #donnyandthestooges, the post is still up there.

This screenshot shows a work in progress. As always. Stay tuned. More to come.

Krog Street Sticker Slaps

In Atlanta, just southeast of downtown is a little neighborhood of called Cabbagetown. In the time I’ve lived in this city, Cabbagetown has become a street art Mecca. A destination for street artists and street art appreciators alike. As I’ve mentioned before, I live in the adjacent neighborhood of Reynoldstown, but just a short walk from the epicenter of the Cabbagetown street art scene. The Krog Street Tunnel is an ever-changing visual spectacle of street art. Unlike the murals around the corner, the tunnel is intended to be tagged and layered and covered and covered and covered some more.

Shaking’ Things Up is the first sticker slap in a new (as of yet untitled) series of work. I finally have something I wanted to add to the Tunnel.

Here are some images of the results. These are just the highlights of my Krog Street sticker slaps.

 

 

 

Shakin’ Things Up

Yesterday afternoon I walked to the street art Mecca of Cabbagetown in Atlanta. I live in the area. Just two short blocks from the epicenter, the Krog Street Tunnel. It’s a crazy kitchen, but I still want to add a little of my own flavor to the stew.

I’m not finished. I’m just getting started.

I am not alone nor do I want to work alone. I want help spreading these stickers (and the future ones I make) around on a local and national level. Reach out to me via private message (or other means) if you’re interested and I’ll get some into your hands one way or another.

A New Street Art Series

It’s hard for me to work on one series of art at a time. Back and forth I go between mixed media paintings, map drawings and street art. My exhibition came together in a whirlwind and left me in a bit of a haze. Blowing out of that smoke came the need to further explore the work I have been doing in my other two primary areas of interest: map drawings and street art. Also, I am pursuing a new medium, screen printing. I am discovering fresh new energy at a time when I need it most. I am excited by the challenges of learning a new medium. Beyond that, I have started a new series of map drawings that have me excited. I also feel recharged by exploring different ways of making street art.

All of this is what led to the decision to make a series of stickers. Not unlike my mixed media paintings, this is commentary on contemporary culture. However, in the street art format, I am intentionally more sharp and direct. The first in the series is shown below.

He Was Sent to Washington to Shake Things Up

There it is – all packed together for you in one image. Millions of words will be written about this one single image. History will always remember this photograph. So many visual symbols and metaphors for the downfall of America in one place. Good ol’ Honest Abe in a frame is the cherry on top of this golden toilet sundae.

That’s right, Donald J. Trump was sent to Washington to shake things up. This is America, 2019.

Have We Finally, Finally, Finally Reached The Beginning Of The End?

It’s Monday afternoon, July 16th. I’m working in my art studio trying to make progress on a new series of paintings. President Chump just completed his astonishingly disgraceful press conference with Vladimir Putin and I have decided I needed to immediately post about the subject.

As an artist, I am motivated and influenced by contemporary culture and our beliefs and relationships (and that includes politics). Therefore, the news, good or bad, can be inspirational. Unfortunately, this has become more difficult for me during the Donald Trump administration. This is true for a variety of reasons. It’s probably attrition more than anything, Trump is so fucking exhausting. That’s why I’m headed out for a walk after I complete this post. I need to reclaim a little of the energy sucked away from me by thinking about Captain Douchebag.

Because it just happened, I know this blogpost is more of a reaction than a response. Regardless, you can mark my words, this moment is a turning point. It will go down as one of the most embarrassing moments in our history. President Chump was tougher on the Democrats and the intelligence community in this press conference than he was on the Russians. It’s hard to put into words what we saw today. I’m wondering if we finally, finally, finally reached the beginning of the end.

John McCain, as we all know is living his final days. He had a lot to say about today. I disagree with McCain more than half of the time, so I do not automatically support anything he says. However, here he perfectly crystallizes the embarrassment happening right before our eyes. His words from today will be remembered and quoted for many, many years to come:

– – – – – 

“Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate. But it is clear that the summit in Helsinki was a tragic mistake.

“President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin. He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.

“It is tempting to describe the press conference as a pathetic rout – as an illustration of the perils of under-preparation and inexperience. But these were not the errant tweets of a novice politician. These were the deliberate choices of a president who seems determined to realize his delusions of a warm relationship with Putin’s regime without any regard for the true nature of his rule, his violent disregard for the sovereignty of his neighbors, his complicity in the slaughter of the Syrian people, his violation of international treaties, and his assault on democratic institutions throughout the world.

“Coming close on the heels of President Trump’s bombastic and erratic conduct towards our closest friends and allies in Brussels and Britain, today’s press conference marks a recent low point in the history of the American Presidency. That the president was attended in Helsinki by a team of competent and patriotic advisors makes his blunders and capitulations all the more painful and inexplicable.

“No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant. Not only did President Trump fail to speak the truth about an adversary; but speaking for America to the world, our president failed to defend all that makes us who we are—a republic of free people dedicated to the cause of liberty at home and abroad. American presidents must be the champions of that cause if it is to succeed. Americans are waiting and hoping for President Trump to embrace that sacred responsibility. One can only hope they are not waiting totally in vain.”