If you just can’t bear anything “Trump,” you might want to get to Washington, D.C. before 17 February. That will be the last day of a short run for the performance art exhibit “Ivanka Vacuuming,” being presented this month by CulturalDC at its “former Flashpoint Gallery.”
The Federalist describes it here:
[A]n Ivanka Trump lookalike wearing a pink dress with bows and stiletto shoes vacuums crumbs off a plush, pink carpet. To make the spectacle interactive, onlookers are encouraged to take crumbs from a pedestal and throw them at her to vacuum up.
Federalist quotes the press release on the exhibit:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
“Inspired by a figure whose public persona incorporates an almost comically wide range of feminine identities – daughter, wife, mother, sister, model, working woman, blonde – Ivanka Vacuuming is simultaneously a visual celebration of a contemporary feminine icon; a portrait of our own relationship to that figure; and a questioning of our complicity in her role-playing,” a press release on the project reads. “The public is invited to throw crumbs onto the carpet, watching as Ivanka elegantly vacuums up the mess, her smile never wavering. This process repeats itself for the entire duration of the performance.”
There is indeed comedy here, although perhaps not what the artist, Jennifer Rubell, suggests. Start with the portentous tone of of the press release; work your way from there. It’s not clear if there’s supposed to be a sly allusion to Nancy Pelosi and her “crumbs” theme about tax-rate reduction, but I’m pretty confident in guessing not.
The Federalist’s Kelsey Harkness points out the irony that “the exhibit reflects every stereotype feminists claim to stand against.” Which is a reminder that everyone on the left needs his or her pet injustice to stick around and metastasize; otherwise, what’s the point of, you know, them? That’s the foundation for making hate-crime laws, after all, which is the main way to start having more hate crimes.
In general, at any rate, of course you have to see Ivanka Trump through the lens of evil stereotypes. Pink-Dress Woman Bad.
If you can’t make it to D.C. to throw crumbs, you can at least watch other people throw them by tuning in to the livestream at the CulturalDC website. I watched for a few minutes and got to cheer on two women as they tossed crumbs at “Ivanka.” Jump back, patriarchy.
If you can make it in person, it’s at 916 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. Send video.
