ART AS PROPHECY
On 13 July, 2024 former US President Donald Trump turned his head just in time to escape the path of a bullet aimed at his head. In 2016, the scene unfolded a little differently: two men lunged at Trump with guns as a crowd looked on in shock. Trump’s MAGA hat stayed on. Or at least that’s what happened in Jay Rechsteiner’s painting, The Assassination of Donald Trump, made by the Swiss artist over seven years ago.
This Saturday, as news of the attempt on Trump’s life and #civilwar began trending on X, I got chills thinking of Rechsteiner’s work, an eerily accurate representation of what happened in Pennsylvania and is happening in America today: a spectacle of muted horror that will change the course of the world in ways we cannot yet comprehend. Are artists prophets? I asked Rechsteiner. His answer to this and my other questions below. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)
INTERVIEW WITH JAY RECHSTEINER
NISHITA JHA: How did you feel when you saw the news?
JAY RECHSTEINER: I don’t know. I woke up to a hate message in my inbox, which has become an unsettling routine. My immediate thought was that it took eight years for something like this to happen. Why didn’t it happen earlier? However, I need to stress that I am not happy someone tried to assassinate Trump. While I am certainly not his biggest fan, that does not mean I want him to die. The news felt surreal, almost like a grim reflection of my painting, but it also reinforced the urgency of addressing the underlying issues that inspire such extreme actions. My work was never about promoting violence, but rather about highlighting the dangerous rhetoric and division that can lead to such outcomes.
NJ: What does art prophesy now, at what feels like a very decisive moment in history?
JR: I believe that artists, thinkers, and writers use their imagination based on facts to envision possible realities. It’s similar to science fiction, where what starts as fiction can eventually become reality. I don’t see artists as fortune tellers, but rather as individuals who connect dots. They observe, interpret, and reflect the world around them, often anticipating trends and highlighting issues before they become widely recognized.
NJ: What were you experiencing and exploring when you made the work in 2016, and what did Trump’s candidacy signify to you as an artist?
JR: The painting was made in 2016 while I was staying in Vienna, Austria. At that time, I felt overwhelmed by the general hatred towards immigrants, especially Muslims, and what I perceived as the ignorance among Trump supporters. Trump employed rhetoric and narratives similar to those used by Nazis and other right-wing groups throughout history. While I understand that many Trump supporters are not inherently bad people but rather disillusioned and disenfranchised, frustrated with the status quo, it felt like the end of the world or at least the end of what we might consider normal.
Artists often respond to events, using their art as a tool for reaction and expression. In this painting, I put myself into the work. However, when you have a proper look at the painting, you’ll notice that I am not actually shooting a real gun. This choice reflects my desire to critique the violence and hatred without perpetuating it.
NJ: How was the work received then and in subsequent years, as Trump went from unlikely prospect to MAGA figurehead and President of the United States?
JR: The work received a mixed response when it was first exhibited. I received quite a few hate messages and vague death threats, which were unsettling.
NJ: What keeps you up at night? JR: Not much, really. I usually process most things during the day in my studio. However, the state of the world and the immense capacity for violence and inhumane behavior do weigh heavily on my mind. The blind hatred and cruelty that people can exhibit are things I find very hard to understand and often impossible to comprehend. These are the thoughts that occasionally keep me up at night.
Note: Jay Rechsteiner’s painting The Assassination of Donald Trump is currently on auction at Saatchi Art Gallery where it’s value has doubled since the assassination attempt on Trump’s life. You can see more of Rechsteiner’s art here.
