Donald Trump is making an unexpected return to Las Vegas this weekend, though not in a manner he envisioned. A 43-foot-tall replica of the Republican presidential candidate, depicted in the nude, now looms over Interstate 15 en route to Utah, grabbing the attention of motorists and passersby.
This towering art installation, however, features one notably diminutive detail: Donald Trump Jr., or rather an anatomical representation humorously named after him, is insultingly small. According to a press release from its anonymous creators, the piece aims to make “a bold statement on transparency, vulnerability, and the public personas of political figures.”
Named “Crooked and Obscene,” the installation is constructed from foam-covered metal rebar and weighs an imposing 6,000 pounds. Adding to its spectacle, it functions as a marionette suspended from a crane, with its arms being the only parts capable of movement observed thus far.
The massive sculpture appeared under the cover of night on Friday at 13460 Apex Harbor Lane in North Las Vegas, suitably situated in a parking lot adjacent to Love’s Storage Solutions. Suspicion surrounding the creation of the installation points towards Joshua Monroe, a Las Vegas resident renowned for designing monsters for horror films and haunted houses. Monroe was previously commissioned by the art collective INDECLINE to create five similar, albeit smaller, 8-foot-tall naked foam Trumps during the 2016 election campaign. That series, titled “The Emperor Has No Balls,” briefly graced streets in Cleveland, LA, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle before being swiftly removed by authorities.
The New York City Parks Department had then issued a tongue-in-cheek statement emphasizing its stance against any unpermitted erections in city parks, regardless of size. The fate of this new naked Trump sculpture remains uncertain. The creators have indicated their intention to take it on a “Crooked and Obscene Tour” across several American cities leading up to Erection Election Day—a provocative nod to both the piece’s design and the political climate it critiques.
