The Quest to Become J.D. Vance's Least Favorite Artist

Now That's What I Call Political Art: 6-6-25, 2025 - 2026. Hand embroidery on Linen using Japanese Thread, Sequins, and Beads. 24 inches by 18 inches. 

J.D. Vance once said, "It is weird to me that these people don't see the irony of honoring marginalized communities by making a beautiful historical building really ugly." 

Via an executive order, President Trump directed J.D. Vance to lead the charge to  

stop government spending on exhibits that  "degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote [...] ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy." Inspired by the vice president's new un-American assignment to rid the country of un-American art, Emily Nostro embarked on an ambitious quest to become J.D. Vance's least favorite artist. As a single, middle-aged woman, Ms. Nostro was certain her demographics would increase her odds of success in her frivolous pursuits. Drawing on the statutory language of Executive Order 14253 as well as other art critique by Vice President J.D. Vance, Emily Nostro presents a hand-embroidered work that strives to depict Miami in an improper, divisive, and un-American manner (the unholy trinity). 

Many TikTok addled young minds immediately spot the work's similarity to the sixteenth card in a Tarot deck: the Tower. The Tower card, often associated with chaos and destruction, represents radical change. This piece features a Miami landmark, the Freedom Tower, aflame. The beautiful historical building once used by Cuban refugees to navigate the American immigration system will soon sit next to President Trump's Presidential Library after an ethically dubious real estate deal. 

The S.O.S. Krome Detention Center detainee protest held on June 6, 2025 is depicted as Saharan dust in the sunset. The sunset reads "Remember the Maine,"  the rallying cry  during the Spanish American War. Soldiers slept on the future site of the Freedom Tower before being shipped off to Cuba. However, the U.S.S. Maine was not attacked; the battleship blew up because soldiers improperly stored weapons below deck. When viewed counterclockwise, the detainees appear to be swept up into the flames and smoke drifts into jingoistic propaganda. 

Below is a hot pink beaded CyberTruck also burning (the electric cars easily catch fire during floods; the city floods often). While the President and former Attorney General Pam Bondi have decried arson events involving CyberTrucks as terrorism and CyberTrucks appear to be the suicide method of choice for veterans going through messy divorces, the vehicle is considered to be deadlier than a Ford Pinto due to their propensity to self-combust. An invasive Burmese python slithers behind Elon Musk's monstrosity. 

A banner reads "Nice City", a nod to the long awaited Grand Theft Auto 6 video game. The video game allows the player to strike pedestrians with their vehicle and commit arson, along with a plethora of options to engage in antisocial, criminal activities. While the county has one of the highest pedestrian fatality rates in the country and police cannot locate the Bird Road Gas Station arsonist, county officials have inexplicably begun talks with the video game makers to enter into a partnership advertising the game in a desperate attempt to capitalize off Nancy Reagan's worst nightmare. At the top of the skyline is the dark side of the moon, which is the only reference Ms. Nostro expects J.D. Vance to understand.