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Here Are Some of the Artistic Memes From the Third Presidential Debate That Made Us Laugh
From a Trump presidency "starter kit" to a helpful Artemisia Gentileschi riff.
From a Trump presidency "starter kit" to a helpful Artemisia Gentileschi riff.
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Last night’s third presidential debate was no joke. Headlines afterwards dwelled on Donald Trump’s jaw-dropping assertion that he might not recognize Clinton’s legitimacy in the increasingly probable event that she becomes the 45th president of the United States. There were plenty of meme-worthy moments aplenty, though, from the hour-and-half hurly burly. Here’s a window to a few of the artsy ones.
Artist, writer, and curator Willa Köerner, taking a deep breath beforehand:
Before the debate ruins twitter, here's a nice picture of a sunset I saw earlier. pic.twitter.com/pTK5SB0boL
— Willa Köerner ☄ (@willak) October 20, 2016
Painter Wendy White expressing her solidarity with a portrait:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLw-8EOBzLr/
And getting a rather less conventional portrait in return:
@wendywhite_nyc pic.twitter.com/zhuR2gsmC3
— Personal Shoplifter (@pshoplifter) October 20, 2016
Designer Michael Suen:
Hillary dressed like she ready for an Equilibrium sequel. #DebateNight pic.twitter.com/tf2CsDhpuK
— Michael Suen (@poetichentai) October 20, 2016
Artist Nicole Nadeau, also picking up on Clinton’s dress and its precedents in the political imagination:
Official power suit ??#Whitepantsuitslay #debate #hilary #claireunderwood pic.twitter.com/iIrUqYqwT0
— Nicole Nadeau (@NicoleNadeau) October 20, 2016
And critic and curator Ed Halter with something that is more of a commentary on her performance, we think:
Hillary giving a little bit of Jodie Foster technocrat tonight #debatenight pic.twitter.com/mROpwTH3mB
— Ed Halter (@edhalter) October 20, 2016
Film critic Mario Alegre, on Trump’s comment that lax immigration was letting “bad hombres” into the country:
“Bad hombres” #Debate pic.twitter.com/12Bezk4Tdu
— Mario Alegre (@MarioAlegre) October 20, 2016
And, of course, the Internet went crazy deliberately mishearing the comment as “bad ombres.” Filmmaker Geoffrey Stevens:
Trump's out to catch all the bad ombrés, starting with his own. pic.twitter.com/bPK9dsFQfh
— Geoffrey Stevens (@TheGeoffMan) October 20, 2016
Some speculation about what Trump was writing, from Glenn Howerton (aka Dennis from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), passed along by art critic Annie Raab:
Trump's notepad (courtesy @GlennHowerton) pic.twitter.com/0av8Qbchua
— Annie Raab (@annie_raab) October 20, 2016
And another one from Raab:
Trump presidency starter kit #debate pic.twitter.com/KIXXlw6uy7
— Annie Raab (@annie_raab) October 20, 2016
Jeanette Hayes, who always has something out there:
#DebateNight pic.twitter.com/JV0JPBr9LK
— Jeanette Hayes (@jeanettehayes) October 20, 2016
Artist Nayland Blake, responding to the exchange on whether Trump was a “puppet” of Putin:
#notallpuppets #debatenight pic.twitter.com/SBBVtEbvmc
— Slay-Land Blechhh (@naylandblake) October 20, 2016
Painter Chris Bors, lampooning Trump and picking up on Clinton’s accusation that he was crying “crocodile tears:”
Trump's Crocodile Tears #trump #crocodiletears pic.twitter.com/xEyqj6KYdM
— Chris Bors (@chrisbors) October 20, 2016
Curator Cambria Floyd on what may be the most infamous two words of the night:
HRC after the "nasty woman" comment: pic.twitter.com/xuXpiqXFrt
— Cambria Floyd (@cambriachanning) October 20, 2016
Plenty of people picked up on this, from journalism prof Andrew Lih:
Bathrooms according to Trump #debatenight pic.twitter.com/Ek2z910ufs
— Andrew Lih (@fuzheado) October 20, 2016
And this really could be a work of art:
I have laughed so hard at this over the last 10 minutes pic.twitter.com/cmje5AasUa
— Common White Girl (@CommonWhiteGirI) October 20, 2016
Sculptor John Powers expressed confidence that Clinton had pummeled The Donald:
Trump is a blood soaked mop of comb-over hair-like. pic.twitter.com/QpTamaCsMa
— Terrified Voter? (@JohnPowersUS) October 20, 2016
Art + Auction editor and critic Sara Roffino, assessing the night:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLxIPI7Ar1V/?taken-by=sararoffino
And art historian Jessica Bell Brown, summing up the meme-material of the evening:
T-shirt order as follows: The African American, Nasty Woman, Bad Ombré.
— Jess Bell Brown (@jessbellbrown) October 20, 2016