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Jeff Hamilton (born 1970), better known as XVALA, is an American
contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
ist known for using controversial celebrity images, artifacts, and references in his work and a focus on loss of privacy and other effects of technology on individuals and society.


Personal life

Jeff Hamilton was born in
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
in 1970 and graduated from
Langston University Langston University (LU) is a public land-grant historically black university in Langston, Oklahoma. It is the only historically black college in the state and the westernmost four-year public HBCU in the United States. The main campus in Lan ...
in 1994. XVALA lives in the
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
, area, but has worked extensively in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
. XVALA had a late entry into the art world, having spent most of the first 15 years of his career on other pursuits.


Identity

There is some dispute as to whether Jeff Hamilton and XVALA are one and the same. XVALA has at times claimed not to be Hamilton, or that another artist was using the name, but no other artist has publicly claimed use of the name. However, the link with Jeff Hamilton is fairly well established. There has been some speculation as to whether XVALA is an acronym. However, the name "XVALA" was chosen for its uniqueness. In 2002, it was trademarked by the artist.


Artistic style and influences

XVALA frequently describes his own work as belonging to the "
Post-PC era The post-PC era was a market trend observed during the late 2000s and early 2010s involving a decline in the sales of personal computers (PCs) in favor of post-PC devices; which include mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers as w ...
". He has produced many types of art, including paintings on canvas, various types of sculptures, graffiti,
wheatpaste Wheatpaste (also known as flour and water paste, flour paste, or simply paste) is a gel or liquid adhesive made from wheat flour or starch and water. It has been used since antiquity for various arts and crafts such as bookbinding, ''Decoupage, ...
d posters with provocative captions, and more. He uses a variety of media including (but not limited to)
oil stick Oil sticks or oil bars are an art medium. Oil sticks are oil paint in a stick form similar to that of a crayon or pastel. Oil sticks are made by blending the oil and pigment with wax and pouring it into molds to form an oil stick. It is distinguis ...
s, acrylic paint, collage, and stencils. His sculptures are commonly made from either a mixture of recycled resin and plastic porcelain or cast metal, but other materials are sometimes used. He has a particular penchant for using found objects in his sculptures, especially when they have a celebrity connection. XVALA has been compared to a number of prominent artists. Due to his tendency toward
appropriation art In art, appropriation is the use of pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. The use of appropriation has played a significant role in the history of the arts (literary, visual, musical and performing arts) ...
, he is sometimes compared with
Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...
,
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
, and
Richard Prince Richard Prince (born August 6, 1949) is an American painter and photographer. In the mid-1970s, Prince made drawings and painterly collages that he has since disowned. His image ''Untitled (Cowboy)'', a photographic reproduction of a photograph ...
. He has also been compared to
Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive ep ...
for his forays into
street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant gr ...
. XVALA has said that he is inspired by
Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish s ...
and
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...
, as well.


Notable works


Cultural Person Jeans

XVALA's first public creative work was his venture as a clothing designer. In 2002, he launched a line of designer jeans with Oklahoma City-based clothing designers Cultural Persona. The jeans were worn by a number of performers and other celebrities such as Beyonce.


Mainsite exhibition

The first significant public display of his visual art was at the December 2006 "Emergent Artists" exhibit at the Mainsite Contemporary Art Gallery in
Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...
. At this event, he displayed four large, mixed-media paintings and several photo-serigraphs, all on canvas, and dubbed his work "tabloid art".


Crazy Bald

His interest in controversial celebrity artifacts gained notice in 2007 when he took a photo of
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
, taken by
paparazzo Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ...
Frank Griffin shortly after she had famously shaved her head and had the image printed on archival aluminum dibond and placed in a hand-sculpted, Italian tabernacle-style frame, and titled it ''Crazy Bald Britney Spears: The Appeal Of The Loss Of Desirability''. The piece has since been displayed in many shows and mentioned in a number of articles.


Brangelina house

In 2008, XVALA collaborated with the sculptor
Daniel Edwards Daniel Edwards (born 1965 in La Porte, Indiana) is an American contemporary artist whose pieces address celebrity and popular culture in ways that have often stirred controversy. The release of the pieces is generally accompanied by press relea ...
to build a 4,000-square-foot, $480,000 house in
Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States. It is a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, located in Central Oklahoma. Its population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States census, a 16% increase from 2010. maki ...
, inspired by the relationship of
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...
and
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...
. The artists considered the house "lifestyle art" but they also want it to be a functional home. During construction, XVALA stenciled a pattern of large smiling hearts on the roofing, as well as quotes and facts related to the Pitt-Jolie family (such as their children's names and birth dates) throughout the framing. XVALA later applied artwork to the finished interior walls as well, and the house contained two sculptures created by Edwards. The home took 14 months to build and was completed in December 2009. Media reporting suggested the house would be sold stipulating "honorary ownership" for Pitt and Jolie, allowing them free use of the home upon request when they were in the area.


Street art

In 2010, XVALA created a poster with an image of
Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at age three. She appeared as a regular on the soap opera ' ...
making an obscene gesture and the caption "thanks for the memories" 'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic'' He posted it in Los Angeles">sic">'sic<_a>''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic'' He posted it in Los Angeles near the site of her well-publicized 2005 car accident involving paparazzo. The gesture was a reference to Lohan's actions during a probation hearing on the day before the image was posted, when she had the phrase "fuck u" [''sic''] written on the fingernail of her left middle finger. Later that year, XVALA created a stir in Oklahoma City when he painted graffiti on the side of the historic Hadden Hall building. The image was a stenciled face of a chimpanzee with bright pink spray-painted lipstick. It was accompanied by the caption "I'm not trying to be slutty," which was a
Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
quote. Around this same period, XVALA was posting salacious images of Cyrus at various locations in Los Angeles. The posters bore the label "FEAR GOOGLE" in large lettering and were intended to illustrate the danger of trusting digital storage or transfer of personal information and images. The photos, showing Cyrus in the shower wearing only a long, white t-shirt, had been stolen from her email by a hacker and posted online. Early in 2008,
Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive ep ...
painted a caveman carrying a tray of fast food on a wall near the historic
New Beverly Cinema The New Beverly Cinema is a historic movie theater located in Los Angeles, California. Housed in a building that dates back to the 1920s, it is one of the oldest revival houses in the region. Since 2007, it has been owned by the filmmaker Quentin ...
in Los Angeles. Other graffiti artists, including XVALA, began adding tags and artwork to the site. In 2010, to protect Banksy's work, the area of the wall bearing his art was covered with plywood and then removed, including XVALA's art in the removed section. The section of wall was then taken to a gallery and in 2018 was auctioned.


''Fear Google''

In 2010, XVALA introduced his controversial ''Fear Google'' campaign, which he said was meant to "strengthen the ongoing debate over privacy in the digital era" by highlighting the ways in which we expose ourselves to the world, often unwittingly, through the indiscriminate use of technology. The campaign comprised several phases.


Scarlett Johansson

The first phase of ''Fear Google'' campaign to attrach media attention was XVALA's poster of
Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...
. In September 2011, nude photos of
Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...
were hacked and poster online. XVALA accessed the photos by way of a simple
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
search. Over the next several days, he pasted poster-sized copies of the images in public areas across Los Angeles with large "Fear Google" stickers covering Johansson's buttocks and breast. XVALA called the images a "disruptive innovation" and said that it should be regarded simply as art. He received a
cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...
letter regarding their use but considered that he was on solid legal ground because he did not hack or leak the photos himself, the photos were being used for an artistic purpose (which is potentially protected by law), and he didn't make any direct profit from the photos. Some attorneys conceded that a lawsuit against the artist would have an uncertain outcome.


''Not Very Well Hung Hangers''

In November 2011, after XVALA found the home addresses of tech industry pioneers
Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...
,
Larry Page Lawrence Edward Page (born March 26, 1973) is an American businessman, computer engineer and computer scientist best known for co-founding Google with Sergey Brin. Page was chief executive officer of Google from 1997 until August 2001 when ...
,
Sergey Brin Sergey Mikhailovich Brin (; born August 21, 1973) is an American computer scientist and businessman who co-founded Google with Larry Page. He was the president of Google's parent company, Alphabet Inc., until stepping down from the role on D ...
,
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...
,
Jack Dorsey Jack Patrick Dorsey (born November 19, 1976) is an American businessperson, who is a co-founder of Twitter, Inc. and its CEO during 2007–2008 and 2015–2021, as well as co-founder, principal executive officer and chairman of Block, Inc. (deve ...
, and
Jimmy Wales Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known as Jimbo Wales, is an American List of Internet entrepreneurs, Internet entrepreneur and former Trader (finance), financial trader. He is a Founders of Wikipedia, co-founder of the non-profi ...
through Google searches. He then went to each of their homes and took items from their outdoor trash containers for use in making sculptures. He stated that he had "mined" their trash for art like their platforms mine users' data for profit. Each piece was intended to represent its former owner's work and perceived flaws in some way, and the exhibit was called "The Not Very Well Hung Hangers of Silicon Valley", the name coming from a wire hanger from Mark Zuckerberg's trash that XVALA bent into a vaguely phallic shape and painted
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
blue. He explained the inspiration for the piece by saying, "I wanted to expose Zuckerberg like he exposes Facebook users daily." In 2012, XVALA mixed plastic waste from
Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...
' trash with recycled
resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...
and plastic porcelain and put it in a 9-inch-tall mold of the
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
CEO wearing his classic turtleneck and jeans and holding an iPhone 5. The mold had been created by the Chinese company M.I.C. Gadget but they were forced by Apple in 2010 and again in 2011 to cease production. XVALA produced black and white versions of the Steve Job action figures. The black figures, he said, were intended to represent each of the employees who died by suicide in 2010 and 2011 as a result of the extremely poor working conditions at the Apple-contracted Foxconn plant. The figures, titled '' Think Different'', were sold for $150–200 each. The artist hoped the symbolism and the title would encourage Apple to "think different" about their labor practices. In addition to targeting tech pioneers, XVALA also appropriated trash items from outside the homes of celebrities. He created art from
Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...
's trash in 2012, transforming a deflated basketball with her plastic waste into a sculpture he called ''Slammed and Dunked''. The piece was inspired by Kardashian's failed marriage to NBA player
Kris Humphries Kristopher Nathan Humphries (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball power forward who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, ...
and was displayed at an exhibition that also included a collection of her social media
selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph or a short video, typically taken with an electronic camera or smartphone. The camera would be usually held at arm's length or supported by a selfie stick instead of being controlled with a self-timer ...
s mounted on aluminum that also came, in part, from her trash. Later in 2012, XVALA took a trash can from Justin Bieber's home and a
milk crate Milk crates are square or rectangular interlocking boxes that are used to transport milk and other products from dairies to retail establishments. In English-speaking parts of Europe the term " bottle crate" is more common but in the United S ...
from a cafeteria at Facebook, attached them together, and painted them silver to create ''Bieberbot''. The piece was intended to represent the singer as "a monster with technology like
Dr. Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character who first appeared as the titular main protagonist of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. He is an Italian-born Swiss scientist who, after studying chemical process ...
and Google". The work was intended to be visual metaphor about the loss of control of personal data when technology is used indiscriminately. XVALA was quoted in a related interview as saying, "We make our trash public domain, not realizing that our trash defines us more than social media."


"No Delete" exhibit

In 2014, XVALA announced his plan to use hacked and leaked nude photos of
Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...
and
Kate Upton Katherine Elizabeth Upton (born June 10, 1992) is an American model and actress. She first appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2011, and was the List of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue c ...
at his "No Delete" exhibit in
St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...
. The title of the exhibit was intended to be "a comment on the inability to erase private information from the Internet's collective memory once it is exposed". Representatives of the two actresses issued public statements warning that "authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence" and that Kate Upton intended "to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible". The
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
also announced that it was "addressing the matter" and Apple that it was "investigating". XVALA, however, believed that he had the right to display the photos because he had not stolen or leaked them himself, and because he was using them as art and announced plans to exhibit them on canvas. Legal experts pointed out that, even though he did not directly steal the images, he was ultimately profiting from stolen property. They argued that the best recourse was to claim copyright violation as the photos were taken by, or at the direction of, the celebrities themselves. Attorneys also questioned whether XVALA's use of the photos in their unaltered state was transformative enough to qualify as fair use. Others highlighted XVALA's choice of Florida for the exhibition, despite previously working almost exclusively in Southern California where the state has a strict prohibition on exhibiting nude photos without the consent of the subject. In addition to the legal issues, the announcement was met with backlash from the public at large. It was denounced by the media and prompted multiple protests, petitions, and boycotts. Various celebrities spoke in support of the women whose images were stolen, with
Andrew Garfield Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. After his breakout role in '' Boy A'' (2007), he came to international attention with the supporting role of Eduardo Saverin in the drama ''The Social Network'' ...
specifically asking, "What fucking right does
VALA Vala or VALA may refer to: Religion and mythology * Vala (Vedic), a demon or a stone cavern in the Hindu scriptures * Völva, also spelled Vala, a priestess in Norse mythology and Norse paganism Fiction * Vala (Middle-earth), an angelic being in ...
have to do that?" and calling the exhibition "absolutely revolting". The exhibit did, however, have some support. XVALA denied that the exhibit was intended to be exploitative and argued that, on the contrary, it was meant to foster discussion about the nature of fame and celebrity, especially with relation to questions of privacy, security, and content ownership. However, a week later he relented and announced that he would not use the stolen photos. Instead, he substituted self-shot, life-size photos of his own semi-naked body in the exhibit.


''Meme Ranch''

XVALA's most recent focus has been on
meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...
s, particularly their origins and impact on society, in an ongoing project titled ''Meme Ranch''. The project consists of a number of collections and individual works.


Big Sausage Pizza

A key piece from the project is an 80-pound, solid high-chromium
stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
sculpture titled ''Big Sausage Pizza.'' The sculpture which was made from a mold of an open
Pizza Hut Pizza Hut, LLC is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, by brothers Dan and Frank Carney. The chain, headquartered in Plano, Texas, operates 19,866 restaurants worldw ...
pizza box. The piece was apparently inspired by the work of
Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish s ...
, particularly the latter's ''
Rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...
'' sculpture. XVALA has suggested that the reflections cast by the box represent the distortion and reshaping of culture by the memes that it adopts and transmits.


''The Pandemic Paintings''

Beginning in 2020, XVALA created a collection called ''The Pandemic Paintings'', representing distinctive aspects of life during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Examples include
bots The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...
,
Karens Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...
, pizza delivery, and the Kim Jong Un death rumors. To express the idea that the world's wealthiest people amassed more wealth during the pandemic XVALA highlighted increasing luxury from societal breakdown through large, elaborate paintings with titles such as ''Show Me the Money: Ultra Luxury Edition'' and ''GUCCI Gang'', combining luxury items and designer goods with a street art-inspired style.


MAGA hat

In the lead up to the 2024 US elections, XVALA created a sculpture from a
MAGA hat "Make America Great Again" (MAGA, ) is an American political slogan most recently popularized by Donald Trump during his successful presidential campaigns in 2016 and in 2024. "MAGA" is also used to refer to Trump's ideology, political base ...
as part of the ''Meme Ranch'' project. He scanned a hat signed by
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, 3-D printed it, and used the printed copy to create a mold. He then cast a bronze copy of the cap and plated it with 24-karat gold. His intention was to combine the general MAGA meme with classic
bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...
s. It is also intended as a response to Maurizio Cattelan's ''America'' - a functioning toilet made from solid 18-karat gold. However, while Cattelan envisions America as a place to dispose of waste, XVALA's MAGA cap encourages the viewer to think of America as great. The work was unveiled at the 2024
Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC ) is an annual political conference attended by Conservatism in the United States, conservative Activism, activists and officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American ...
(CPAC) in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
It has since been displayed at other conservative political events, including the 2024
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...
(RNC) in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
and an event at the Trump National Golf Club in
Bedminster, New Jersey Bedminster is a Township (New Jersey), township in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,272, an increase of 107 (+1.3%) from the 201 ...
.


Reception

Reactions to XVALA's work vary.


Criticism

His harshest criticism came in relation to the intended release of nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton. Haley Blum of ''
USAToday ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquart ...
'' wrote, "We get the idea f the photos being used as art kind of, but we can't shake the creepiness of it all." More outspoken writers called the idea "the nastiest reaction... tabloid trash", a "ridiculously terrible idea", weak, gross, unoriginal, "stunt art", and one of the angriest called it "a shameless bid for attention and relevance, and probably money... exploitative, opportunistic, misogynistic, voyeuristic nonsense masquerading as art... ndtotally uninteresting". However, Lennie Bennett of the ''
Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...
'' pointed out that Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp created highly shocking and even offensive pieces at times too, and that " tmight be lousy, irritating or offensive, but intent establishes its categorization and the intent of these works is art."


Praise

XVALA's work receives accolades, as well. One gallery called his work "
dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
n ut witha future-facing aesthetic to represent both the here and now and all that remains beyond". A reporter on his ''Bieberbot'' show said XVALA's work "might make you scratch your head at first, but then it becomes the work of genius". The writer went on to say of one painting, " tburned my mind with the shape of aliens and the future yet to come. I think this piece will be important one day." Even the executive vice-president of the development company restoring a historic building targeted by XVALA's art said, while also decrying graffiti as vandalism, "We're flattered such an acclaimed artist decided to perform his or her art on our property."


See also

* Imagery of nude celebrities * iCloud leaks of celebrity photos


Notes and references


External links


Official XVALA website

Meme Ranch website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xvala 1970 births Living people American contemporary artists Artists from Tulsa, Oklahoma Langston University alumni