A Trumpist Manifesto

By Vanessa PlaceJanuary 15, 2017

A Trumpist Manifesto
A Trumpist Manifesto

Believing that the true avant-garde is that which cleanses the present of the past, and that this cleansing is vital to the work of art, the work of art being to destroy all prior works of art, being nothing but slack proof of failed promise, the present being always better than the past:

We herald Trump as the new leader of the new avant-garde, and Trumpism as the most avant-garde of all prior avant-gardes.

Because Trumpism is for total destruction, and total destruction is for
a totally new creation:

This will be the Biggest Bang.

 Trumpism is for the fake, the easily grasped, the sell-off and the sell-out. For the double-take and the triple-play, the aside, the seeming mistake, the selective slip of the tongue and unwanted press of the flesh, the crude and the rude and the telling like it is, or will be, because what you want is to be free.

Free from sincerity, free from identity, free from the whiners, the losers, from those with bad breath, free from austerity and from the PC, because who wants to make sacrifices when we can make money? Which makes us free to make art, the best art, the art of the deal and the steal, art that rewards its own reap, art that's big business, art that's for all of us, for a price.

Which, if you have to ask, you won’t afford.

 

 

 Trumpism is for the photo op over the op-ed, the fashion line over the line-item, and the victory tour as the triumph of the shill. Trumpism, like America, loves a winner, and Trumpism always wins because life is about winning, and Trumpism is about winning life.

 Trumpism is for New York against D.C., because D.C. is a marble city, and New York is a city of gold. Trumpism is for gold over marble, because gold is easily sold. And marble is for headstones.

 Trumpism is against intelligence reports, because intelligence doesn’t come from reports. Intelligence is what’s reported.

And we are very, very intelligent.

 Trumpism is against compassion and for Kanye. Trumpism knows that kinder and gentler is a fabric softener, and Kanye is what history will be. Trumpism writes its own beginnings, because there is no end to Trumpism, and Yeezus will rise again.

 Trumpism is for surplus and against fidelity, because nothing is better than having a beautiful piece of some country, and other such negotiable assets. Trumpism knows that if you're not asking for more, you're settling for less.

 

 

 Trumpism says no lives matter but mine; for only capital matters, and capital, like country, is a private matter. Welfare is a rotten system, not a social concern. To hell with poverty.

 Trumpism is against poverty and for money. Poverty is ugly, wealth is beautiful, and Mexico is just a state of mind.

We are very beautiful.

 Trumpism says nothing is original, but most things are patentable and everything is up for grabs. Trumpism says grab it while you can, and even when you can’t.

Winners take everything.

Remember you can never be too rich or too greedy. The only thing certain is death, because you don't have to pay taxes. And we're working on death.

 Trumpism is for fake news and fake boobs.
 Trumpism says all news is fake.
 Trumpism says all boobs are great.
 Trumpism says the only thing real are your illusions.

And we are for everything fake.

 Trumpism says you’re the puppet, because Trumpism is the puppeteer.

 

 

 Trumpism knows that the selfie is the salute of its recruit, that social media is our only ethic and esthetic, and that in this time of Tweetpolitik, we gladly objectify ourselves to and for our friends and followers, making sure we always know who are our true friends and followers, keeping them and ourselves in a constant state of image-making, an esthetic regime that guarantees its own continuous production, because we are all collaborators, if not collaborationists.

We like what we see. And when we see something, we know to say something, for:

 Trumpism knows that safety comes first in American hearts and minds and Trumpism will provide safe spaces for all Americans, keeping each comfortable with their own kind.

 Trumpism says what's the worst that can't happen.

 Trumpism says sell it off, burn it down, blow it up, and Chapter 11 the rest. Trumpism says you can’t do today if you’re tied to failed tomorrow.

 Trumpism says think big, or not at all. Trumpism says think monumental, and not at all.

 Trumpism says let’s not make America great again —

Let’s make greatness American.


 

VanessaPlace, Inc.
The world’s first poetry corporation.
Poetry is a kind of money.

this photo: Vanessa Place...A Press Conference at CAGE83 at 83a Hester Street to announce the official launch of VanessaPlace Inc. with core Management team Joseph A. Quintela, Ana Bozicevic and Steve Glasson. Poets Rob Fitterman, Corina Copp, Star Black, Ben Fama, Andrew Durbin etc were in attendance. exclusive photos by Lawrence Schwartzwald
Vanessa Place...A Press Conference at CAGE83 at 83a Hester Street to announce the official launch of VanessaPlace Inc. Photo by Lawrence Schwartzwald.


 

Thanks to Lawrence Schwartzwald for the use of his photo. Schwartzwald is the author of The Art of Reading, a photo essay (McNally Jackson, 2015), a collection of candid photographs of people reading. www.lawrenceschwartzwald.com

front book cover of The Art of Reading by Lawrence Schwartzwald

LARB Contributor

Vanessa Place is a poet, critic, and criminal defense attorney, and serves as co-director of Les Figues Press.

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