Art Exhibit Called 'Why I Want to F— Donald Trump' Opens Thursday

CHELSEA, NY — Let's be serious: this election year has been so crazy, it is not a surprise at all that an art exhibit called "Why I Want to F— Donald Trump" is opening in Chelsea on Oct. 13.

The exhibit is based on the infamous essay from 1967 called "Why I Want to F— Ronald Reagan" by J.G. Ballard. Ballard's work, whose name is not truncated as it appears on Patch, was a bizarre parody with a list of experiments described to have been conducted on people to examine the psychosexual appeal of Reagan as a presidential candidate.

"Using Ballard's essay as a springboard for political discourse, Why I Want to F— Donald Trump includes numerous artists whose work collectively comments on the intersection of American politics and the over-sexualized cult of celebrity, as well as the sensationalism surrounding politics, crystallized in this election," the exhibit's press release says.

"Utilizing caricature, parody, and social and political pastiches, these artists highlight a pervasive critique of the current political climate as one that has dangerously welded politicians and celebrities as one."

There is a lot — a lot — of pornography in this exhibit. Artist Alfred Steiner, for example, makes watercolor caricature portraits of Trump and Hillary Clinton with "hardcore pornographic images of male and female genitalia to build the facial structures of each politician." That concept is meant to explore Ballard's idea of "the probability of presidential figures being perceived primarily in genital terms."

There will also be a portrait of George W. Bush made out of hyper-sexual Western imagery, and a picture of Hillary Clinton "sandwiched between over sexualized presidents and fictional characters: Bill Clinton, JFK, Xena Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and others." That last piece is meant to comment on the hypersexuality of political stories in the media, according to the artist.

The exhibit is being shown Oct. 13 through Nov. 12, notably until after the election. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday through Saturday. Find out all the artists and more details about the gallery's opening and features here.

Photos courtesy of the Joshua Liner Gallery; Header photo: Brian Andrew Whiteley – The Legacy Stone Project (The Donald Trump Tombstone) Image taken in Sheeps Meadow, Central Park via photographer VentikoGranite