“It’s Brutal!” Trump, Architecture, and American Authoritarianism. (Weird Little Architects Part II). E08.

In this follow up to our episode on Trump’s “Weird Little Architects” (E06) we examine the ways that architecture has been instrumentalized by the Trump administration. Through a close look at the Executive Order “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again,” and at administration comments around the renovation of the White House, we show how architecture is used by the administration to advance its authoritarian and white supremacist projects.

Major sections include:

Trump’s Architecture Program. 00-37:00

Fascist Aesthetics and the Demolition of the White House. 37:00-56:00

Brutalism and Modernism as a Contrast to the Trump Agenda. 56:00-81:00

 

We used clips from:

“Justin Shubow Interviewed About Brutalism on Newsmax - Greg Kelly Reports” https://youtu.be/OFRpqpdCikw?si=clvtWq8TSQEO1viR

“Stephen Miller: East Wing was Cheaply Built, Long Overdue for Renovation.” https://www.foxnews.com/video/6383815895112

Zoolander (2001)

 

References:

Krugman, Paul. 2025. “Trump’s Gilded Ballroom and the Fall of the American Republic.” https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trumps-gilded-ballroom-and-the-fall

Koldehoff, Stephen and Tobias Timm. 2025. Donald Trump Has a History of Pulverizing Historic Buildings. Artnet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/donald-trump-bonwit-teller-friezes-met-2132673

Benjamin, Walter. 1935. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.”

Medovoi, Leerom. 2012.
“Dogma-Line Racism: Islamophobia and the Second Axis of Race.” Social Text. 30 (2 (111)): 43–74. https://doi.org/10.1215/01642472-1541754

Compagnon, Madeline. 2020. “What Makes a ‘Beautiful’ Federal Building?” JSTOR Daily. https://daily.jstor.org/what-makes-a-beautiful-federal-building/

Volner, Ian. 2020. “Trump Can’t Make Architecture Great Again Without an Infrastructure Plan.” Artnews. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/columns/trump-make-architecture-great-again-maga-classicism-1202677813/

 

We used a quotation: “The Democrat Party’s main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals,” which should be attributed to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

 

Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k

Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock

Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

 

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel

License code: TPBUUIJWTSHGYJQ9

 

 

We invited Nick Sturm to join us to tell us about his recent Defector article, “Good Riddance to The Best American Poetry.” Nick tells us about the reactionary ideals which shaped the poetry anthology series and how these reactionary ideals influence American politics and the wider world of poetry.

Nick Sturm teaches at Georgia State University in Atlanta. His book “Publishing the New York School: Small Press Communities and American Poetry” will be published by Columbia University Press. Nick is also in the research stage on another book-length project, “The Poetry Business,” that examines the role of the state, nonprofits, universities, and philanthropy in the professionalization of American poetry. A few other forthcoming projects include a chapter on poet Frank O'Hara's publishing history in “Frank O’Hara in Context” from Cambridge University Press; editing “The Collected Poems of Jim Brodey” for Nightboat Books; and a chapter on the relationship between federal arts funding and small press editorial practices in “The Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary Editing.”

You can find Nick’s article, “Good Riddance to The Best American Poetry” here: https://defector.com/good-riddance-to-the-best-american-poetry

In our conversation, Nick mentions Jonathan White’s article, “Thinking Generations:” https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/49483/1/White_thinking_generations.pdf

 

---

Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado:
https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k

Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock
Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

Music from #Uppbeat
https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel
License code: KRQMGNARPJLX0ICN

In this episode, we tell you about the weird little architects in Trump’s orbit and their plans to remake DC.

 

References

The National Civic Art Society: www.civicart.org

Website for Michael Curtis, the artist member of the NCAS https://theclassicalartist.com/statues

Video: Washington the Classical City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LkKnhtOPnc

“Hegel’s Aesthetics.” In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel-aesthetics/

Cole, Bruce. Art From the Swamp: How Washington Bureaucrats Squander Millions on Awful Art. https://www.amazon.com/Art-Swamp-Washington-Bureaucrats-Squander/dp/1594039968

Video: Roger Scruton: Why Beauty Matters. https://vimeo.com/549715999

 

Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock

Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

Music from #Uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel

License code: RIGCP4AT5FQFWIGO

Colin and Mariel watch "Style Wars," a classic documentary about New York City graffiti in 1982, and explore what this documentary can tell us about the politics of today.

 

References:

Style Wars (1982): https://youtu.be/CO9YgJXzRmk?si=Alsm22cBTOlZxOY1

Footage of the Burning of the Bronx from the 1977 World Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVH-BE9CUo

Interview with Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant. Hip Hop Slam: https://www.hiphopslam.com/articles/artic_StyleWarsDVD.html

Map: “How the Burning of the Bronx led to the Birth of Hip Hop,” originally from  “Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas” Joshua Jelly-Shapiro and Rebecca Solnit eds. Featured on Independent Lens. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/how-the-burning-of-the-bronx-led-to-the-birth-of-hip-hop/

Rahn, Janice. “Painting Without Permission” https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/painting-without-permission-9780897898102/

 

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel

License code: TBDYWEHRAAIK7W26

 

Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k

Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock

Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

 

Public Art On Trial:

In this episode, we examine the ways that major funders of public art in the US have often sought to use public art as a tool of social engineering. What did these funders hope that public art would achieve? And were they successful in their efforts to transform the social life of American cities? We will look at a number of high profile public art projects and controversies and attempt to evaluate the goals and impacts of public art in the US.

References:

Richard Serra Interview 1983: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgtcyuXQ4T4

The Trial of Tilted Arc: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxyhgUAYvB4

Kwon, Miwon. “One Place After Another: Site Specific Art and Locational Identity.” https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262612029/one-place-after-another/

For info on urban renewal and Calder Plaza: Michigan Live: Awash in concrete: How Calder Plaza came to be: https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2016/10/grand_rapids_urban_renewal_exp.html

 

Header image based on photo by Gary Coronado: https://tinyurl.com/kdzxt5k

Pod logo based on photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock

Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

 

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel

License code: UKJ7UN6PM4ANCNM9

The internationally famous graffiti artist, Banksy, has made 3 trips to Palestine, where he has attempted to use graffiti art to build solidarity with the Palestinian cause. What are the possibilities and limits of this form of artistic solidarity?

 

References:

Dan Brooks “Banksy and the Problem with Sarcastic Art.” NYT. Sept 10 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/magazine/banksy-and-the-problem-with-sarcastic-art.html

Amahl Bishara. “Backstories: U.S. News Production and Palestinian Politics.” 2012. https://www.sup.org/books/middle-east-studies/back-stories

Shuruq Harb: “Don’t Confuse Me With The Monkey: On Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel.” Ocula. July 21 2017. https://ocula.com/magazine/spotlights/dont-confuse-me-with-the-monkey-on-banksys-wa/

Jennifer Lynn Kelly. “Invited To Witness: Solidarity Tourism Across Occupied Palestine.” 2023. https://www.dukeupress.edu/invited-to-witness

Channel 4 News. “Banksy documentary: Welcome to the Banksy art hotel in Bethlehem.” 2017.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMS6Ds3qryY&ab_channel=Channel4News

BanksyFilm. “Make this the year YOU discover a new destination.” 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e2dShY8jIo&ab_channel=banksyfilm

The Guardian. “After Banksy: The Parkour Guide to Gaza.” 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuHsRm5FBvA&ab_channel=TheGuardian

--

Episode Photo By Maureen from Buffalo, USA - West Bank wall at Kalandia, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118005802

Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel

License code: KGPS35V2S9VLBQSZ

 

 

Colin interviews Leesa Kelly and Amira McLendon of Memorialize the Movement about their experiences as Black activists working to preserve art from the 2020 uprising in Minneapolis. Kelly and McLendon offer insight into the racial politics of art preservation.

Links and References:

Memorialize the Movement: https://www.memorializethemovement.com/

Art and Artifact: Murals from the Minneapolis Uprising: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517918989/art-and-artifact/

Preservation for the People Podcast: https://blackartconservators.com/podcast/

Monument Lab’s National Monument Audit: https://monumentlab.com/audit

Jenn M. Jackson: “The Militancy of (Black) Memory: Theorizing Black-Led Movements as Disjunctures in the Normativity of White Ignorance.” https://doi.org/10.1215/00382876-9825933

 

Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock

Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

 

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel

License code: WOMBEWKJI6OOODDO

Very Fine Statues on Both Sides:
On Trump’s obsession with confederate statues.

References:
Cox, Karen.2019. Dixies Daughters: The United Daughters of the Confederacy and The Preservation of Confederate Culture. UP Florida. https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813064130

Southern Poverty Law Center map of confederate symbols, “Whose Heritage”: https://www.splcenter.org/whose-heritage-map/

A Pinterest of statue toppling images from 2020: https://pin.it/1vCPFbp6F

Clips:
CNN: Trump on Removal of Confederate General: Is George Washington Next? Aug 15 2017 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10157182610776509

CNBC: President Donald Trump on Charlottesville: You Had Very Fine People on Both Sides. Aug 15 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmaZR8E12bs

Cover Photo by Ted Timmons, Edited by Colin McLaughlin-Alcock Creative Commons License: https://tinyurl.com/y9dj772p

Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/night-drift/pastel
License code: GQDFBFKOAKOQWZM5