by Lucy Tiven
May 4, 2016
NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.
"MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN" 11"X14" PASTEL PENCILS, 2016
"Make America Great Again" was created to evoke a reaction from its audience, good or bad, about the significance we place on our physical selves. One should not feel emasculated by their penis size or vagina, as it does not define who you are. Your genitals do not define your gender, your power, or your status.
Simply put, you can be a massive prick, despite what is in your pants.
-- illmagore.com
Feminist artist Ilma Gore, 24, is no stranger to controversy, and she has faced a barrage of social media abuse from supporters of Republican front-runner Donald Trump since her nude painting of Trump with a micropenis went viral on Facebook earlier this year. On Friday, the artist's critics took their threats up a notch: Gore alleges that a Trump supporter physically attacked her in Los Angeles.
Walker Reader @walkermag
After threats, #IlmaGore's Trump portrait now on sale in the UK. Pricetag: £1m. http://wac.mn/23SELA3
7:51 AM - 18 Apr 2016 · Minneapolis, MN, United States
On Saturday, Gore shared a selfie of a black-eye on Instagram, alleging that she was assaulted by a Trump supporter near her home.
illmagore 5 days ago
Today I was punched in the face by a man who got out of his car and yelled, "Trump 2016!" in Los Angeles, just days after I returned home from London just down the road from my house. Though I encourage passion, opinion and emotion, especially through art, I think violence is disgusting. To live in a place where Facebook has given my address to an anonymous third party makes me feel like I am homeless again. This type of violence makes creatives feel like we live in a world where our individual creative input isn't safe. I am sad that this is the state of our America right now. I am sad that Trump, and many of his supporters, don't find words enough to express their opinions - they need walls, waterboarding and punches. @realdonaldtrump Please stop glamorizing and perpetuating violence. Make America Decent Again! #makeamericadecentagain No, they have not been caught, and the men drove off laughing. A detailed police report has been filed.
ATTN: spoke to the artist on the phone about the incident, which she explained happened on Friday, around 12:40 p.m.
"I have been receiving a lot threats of violence through social media, and in my inbox since the image of the artwork [of Donald Trump] went viral," Gore explained. "I've had a couple of people yell out, or notice who I am because of the image, or because of my tattoos."
GbamTV @GbamTVGlobal
Artist threatened with lawsuit over nude Trump picture http://goo.gl/UJ2ov6 #GBAMTV @illmagore @realDonaldTrump
4:36 AM - 18 Apr 2016
"I'd been home from London for about a week, and I was walking to the art store by my house," she said. "I was actually walking on a through street, from a main road."
Gore continued:
"And as I walking, a car of guys yelled out slurs and yelled out 'Trump 2016' and that was what I heard, audibly, and I started texting my girlfriend and told her about it. I just ignored it, because it's happened before, so it's not too odd. Then, they pulled over in front of me, about 20 feet in front of me after driving past and I continued to ignore them and walk. They weren't yelling anything [then], they just pulled over, and when I went to walk past the car, one of the guys got out of the passenger seat and hit me, and yelled 'Trump 2016' and they all laughed and drove off."
Afterwards, Gore told ATTN: that she went to a Culver City police station, but they told her to go to a different Los Angeles station, where she ultimately filed a detailed police report.
Backpacky Barnes @SPUTNlKBARNES
Ilma Gore.
3:20 PM - 17 Apr 2016
She claims Trump is "glamorizing and perpetuating violence."
"It’s scary to think — in this day and age — that any artist who uses their artwork to speak could be just hit for it," Gore told ATTN:. But she also saw a particular pattern of violence among Trump supporters.
The Memo @TheMemo
See the nude Donald Trump #art the internet didn’t want you to see http://buff.ly/1MjCxFw @MaddoxGallery @illmagore
5:30 AM - 8 Apr 2016
"I think there is a lot of really angry Trump supporters, and I feel like Donald Trump himself is inciting the violence, the way he is saying 'if you attack one of these protesters, I'll pay your legal fees.' I can’t help but feel that it's a direct link to that," Gore said.
Jim Roberts ✔ @nycjim
Trump doubles down with Orange County conservatives: “I’d go many steps further than waterboarding." http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/l ... story.html …
5:43 AM - 29 Apr 2016
Photo published for Trump begins California campaign with raw performance in O.C.; protesters take to the streets
Trump begins California campaign with raw performance in O.C.; protesters take to the streets
Donald Trump put his roughest edges on display Thursday night in Costa Mesa as he opened his California primary campaign with a raw
"It's personally kind of embarrassing for me to post something like that on social media because I knew there would be a lot of backlash," Gore added, "but the fact that there's someone out there who thinks that sort of casual violence is okay, is super frightening to me. So that was more important."
Some of Gore's critics have accused her of "asking" to be physically harmed, according to artist. Others have alleged that she was lying about being assaulted.
BITCH, I OLD YOU MAKE ME A SAMMICH
Harry Ballzak @HarryBallzak1
@illmagore @lordhelmet833 @gooberspa
8:47 PM - 19 Apr 2016
Gustavo Rejivik @GustavoRejivik
@illmagore ... ugh.. you lie.. we don't believe you...
When is your Obama Nude painting due to release??
1:39 PM - 2 May 2016
lordhelmet833 @lordhelmet833
@illmagore That's a dopey statement. Do you think women are EQUAL or VICTIMS? You can't be both. Make your choice and then STFU.
8:32 AM - 18 Apr 2016
Gustavo Rejivik @GustavoRejivik
@illmagore Ugh, actually its women who've always oppressed, nagged, and acted violent towards their boys and men in general..
1:38 PM - 2 May 2016
"It’s sad people say that I deserve this, because I painted him and disrespected him, when Donald Trump is literally a racist and is disrespectful to people," she told ATTN:.
This isn't the first time Gore has faced disturbing responses from Trump supporters. After her painting "Make America Great Again" went viral on Facebook in February, she "received thousands of death threats" that led her to flee to the U.K., according to an April report on the Guardian. An anonymous Digital Millennium Copyright Act was also filed against Gore, which led social media pages to censor the painting and eBay to de-list it, the Guardian reported.
Garro Kanàan @MCQGarro
but #Trump 's lawyers are trying to keep her from making anything off of his teeny weenie. @illmagore @MCQGarro
1:34 PM - 20 Apr 2016 · İstanbul, Türkiye, Türkiye
She told ATTN: that she took the painting to Europe after she received "really, violent, detailed threats" including death and rape threats. Galleries were also worried about the safety of displaying the in the U.S., she explained.
"I really think it is because of the way Trump is glamorizing violence," Gore said of the incident.
Trump has repeatedly come under fire due to the culture of violence surrounding his campaign.
"I think it's just kind of indicative of where we are and where America is," she added. "It's so sad to see how many people are being hurt; it's so many protesters, even on Donald Trump’s side are getting hurt. And I've never seen that in an election."
Bloomberg Politics ✔ @bpolitics
Donald Trump "hopes" the Republican Convention doesn’t turn to violence http://bloom.bg/1VwYrsm
9:20 AM - 18 Apr 2016
Gore is not the first person to accuse Trump of encouraging his supporters to take justice into their own hands when faced with protesters and Trump detractors.
In late March, Twitter users created the hashtag #SaferThanATrumpRally to satirically point out the hazards of these campaign events, compared to comparably safe activities like driving off a cliff, and drinking water from the city of Flint.
Chuy Churros, Jr. @krodNM
Do as the sign says#SaferThanATrumpRally
10:33 AM - 21 Mar 2016
As ATTN: has previously reported, at a March GOP debate, CNN moderator Jake Tapper asked Trump if he encouraged a culture of violence against protesters at his rallies.
Chris Steller @chris_steller
.@ZekeJMiller
8:38 PM - 10 Mar 2016
Trump responded that his supporters "have anger that’s unbelievable. They love this country." He also maintained that he hadn't witnessed any violence personally. "I heard about it, which I don’t like," he added.
Earlier in the campaign, protester was sucker-punched at Trump rally in North Carolina, and former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields alleged that Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed her violently after a press conference, while she was trying to ask the candidate a question. As ATTN: has previously reported, from a Las Vegas rally, the GOP front-runner also said he would like to punch a protester in the face.
Just this weekend, Trump supporters and protesters clashed violently at California campaign events — which illustrated how tensions have escalated among Trump and anti-Trump camps alike.
li Vitali ✔ @alivitali
Protesters just wrecked this cop car. Bashed in windows, jumping on top of it.
9:27 PM - 28 Apr 2016
Still, the painter maintained that she isn't going anywhere — even if Trump is our next president.
"I definitely will be staying here, and I will be staying here if Trump is elected as president," she told ATTN:, but added that she's taking precautions to protect her own safety.
"I painted Donald Trump nude, so I knew there was going to be some sort of reaction from people, I wasn't sure what that was," Gore explained. "But I've always told my friends and those around me that if it did lead to some sort of violence then it did, and I would stand by it and tell the truth, and be honest."
You can read more about "Make America Great Again" and see more of Illma Gore's work on her website.
