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 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 purging federally funded institutions of art deemed improper, divisive, or anti-American. And thus, Emily Nostro embarked on an ambitious goal 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 pursuits. Drawing inspiration from 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 anti-American manner (the unholy trinity). 

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. The U.S.S. Maine was not attacked; the battleship blew up because the soldiers improperly stored dynamite below deck. When viewed counterclockwise, the detainees appear to be swept up into the flames and smoke drifts into jingoistic propaganda. A banner reads "Nice City", a nod to  the long awaited Grand Theft Auto 6 video game.  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 the boxy vehicle appears to be the suicide method of choice for veterans going through messy divorces, the vehicle are considered to be more deadly than a Ford Pinto due to their propensity to self-combust. An invasive Burmese python slithers behind the vehicle. 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. 

The artist hopes to confound the viewer and hopes viewers pick up a copy of Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine to display on their coffee tables to affirm their wokeness.