When Donald Trump received the 2024 Presidential election, artist and editor Tod Lippy—like a lot of his friends on the left—was surprised. However as an alternative of turning inward, he went searching for solutions. What adopted was an obsessive two-day seek for voters who had publicly supported Trump, not on social media however in op-eds, information interviews, and regional press. He discovered 50 of them. Then, having by no means painted earlier than, he started portray each.
The result’s My Fellow Individuals, a grouping of portraits making its debut this week as a site-specific set up with the Assembly at Impartial New York. The portraits are honest, unsparing, and shocking—not least due to how they’ve modified Lippy himself. What started as an try to know became one thing deeper: a wierd type of communion between the artist and his topics, a mission that feels as emotional as it’s political.
Over the course of a number of months, Lippy painted practically one portrait a day, immersing himself solely within the course of. He spent a lot of the winter in Los Angeles finishing the sequence, reworking his days into an intense routine of centered labor and introspection.
As the times went on, Lippy wasn’t simply studying methods to use acrylic gouache—a flat, fast-drying medium he selected for its accessibility. He was additionally studying methods to see. Finding out every face intimately, he discovered himself connecting to folks he had little in widespread with politically. “I truly ended up actually being nearly fond of those folks,” he mentioned, “even supposing I’ve nothing in widespread with them politically.”
That connection was solid via the mechanics of portraiture. “While you paint a face, particularly once you’re actually finding out folks’s eyes and the way they comport themselves, you actually get to know them,” he mentioned. “It’s loopy. I didn’t suppose this was going to occur, nevertheless it ended up being the perfect byproduct of the entire expertise.”
ARTnews: You’ve mentioned this all began the day after the election. What occurred?
Tod Lippy: I’d carried out lots of canvassing in the course of the marketing campaign, and I actually thought Kamala would win. When she didn’t, I used to be utterly gobsmacked. The very first thing I did that day was delete all my social media—all the pieces however LinkedIn. Then I opened up Google and typed in “Why I voted for Donald Trump.” That search became two days of obsessive digging. I discovered 50 individuals who had publicly defined their vote, principally in op-eds or media interviews. I wasn’t searching for particular demographics or geographies—I simply grabbed the primary 50 I might discover.
This wasn’t about constructing a consultant pattern.
No, it was purely about entry. A few of the folks got here from op-eds—perhaps 20 %—however most had been interviewed by the Instances, native papers, or TV information. The group ended up weirdly dispersed throughout the nation. Once more, I wasn’t searching for “sorts.” I simply needed to do that shortly, earlier than I second-guessed myself.
You hadn’t painted earlier than. Why use portraiture as your medium?
I feel once you’re in a hyper-polarized time, folks on the opposite aspect begin to develop into abstractions. Figurative portray felt like a approach to push towards that—to pressure myself to see them as folks. And portray somebody’s face, actually finding out their eyes, their expression, you get to know them in a means you wouldn’t in any other case. I began to really feel a type of affection for these folks, despite the fact that politically we’re utterly at odds.
How did you select your supplies?
I picked acrylic gouache at random, principally as a result of it dries shortly and has a flat high quality I preferred. I didn’t wish to cope with oils—too gradual, too technical. I went to LA that winter, and whereas I used to be there, I painted nearly one portrait a day. That was my life—paint, eat, sleep, repeat. It took a number of months to complete the total sequence, and over time I obtained higher. The early portraits are a little bit tough, however the later ones are extra refined. I used to be studying to color as I went, and it was intense. It wasn’t nearly approach—I used to be additionally studying how to hook up with these folks via the act of portray.
Did you ever fear about editorializing, even unconsciously?
On a regular basis. That’s why I attempted to be scrupulously trustworthy to the supply images. No embellishing, no shade shifts, no making a degree with how they appeared. It wasn’t about flattering or mocking them. I’ve at all times been type of a mimic—I did a sequence of drawings for my journal Esopus, and accuracy was vital there too. Similar with this. I simply needed to be sincere in how I rendered them.
What has the response been like? Particularly from Trump supporters?
Combined, as you’d count on. Some folks refused to even stroll into the room. Others mentioned, “That appears like my grandmother.” Just a few Trump voters got here by. They had been completely advantageous—we talked. They had been atypical Trump supporters, however they preferred the present. The work isn’t about celebrating them, nevertheless it’s not about villainizing them both. That wouldn’t be attention-grabbing.
You’ve labored throughout lots of mediums—magazines, music, images. How does this mission slot in?
I’ve at all times been somebody who backs into issues. I’m going to a gallery, see one thing odd, and suppose, “That’s attention-grabbing.” Then I begin photographing it. Then it’s a guide. Then it’s a present. Similar with this. I didn’t got down to make a portray mission. I simply had a query, and this was the way in which to reply it. That’s been true for many of my inventive work—music, design, images. It’s nearly making sense of the world via making one thing.
So, are you an artist?
I don’t know. I do so much—guide design, enhancing, consulting. I began a brand new press after my journal Esopus folded. I make music. I suppose I simply suppose the world’s extra attention-grabbing after I’m creating one thing from it. That’s how I make sense of issues. Not all the pieces needs to be a capital-P Venture. Generally you simply have to start out.
